Polyoxometalate-Gold(I)/H⁺ Complexes: Air-Stable, Efficient, Polyvalent, and Bifunctional Catalysts

Gold­(I)/H+-polyoxometalate hybrids, with general formula [POM]x−[H]x−1+[R3PAu­(MeCN)]+, were synthesized and fully characterized by 31P and 29Si MAS or liquid NMR, FT-IR, and mass spectroscopy. All these polyoxometalate gold­(I) complexes exhibited excellent catalytic activity and selectivity compared to standard homogeneous gold catalysts in a large range of reactions. The variation of the ligand and the polyoxometalate nature around gold­(I) also highlighted the flexibility and the multifunctionality of such catalysts, as well as their recyclability.