Gold-Catalyzed 1,2-Carboxyarylation of Alkenes

Herein, we have disclosed the gold-catalyzed 1,2-carboxyarylation of alkenes through the ligand enabled Au(I)/Au(III) catalysis. Unlike other approaches for arylative functionalization of C-C multiple bonds that involve the use of strong nucleophiles, attempts to utilize weak nucleo-philes like carboxylate anions were unsuccessful. The key to achieving this transformation is the use of 1,3-diketone appended alkene which undergoes gold-catalyzed oxyarylation followed by retro-Aldol reaction to afford the product. Mechanistic investigations, comprising numerous control experiments, NMR studies, and HR-MS analysis, were conducted to support the proposed mechanism.