Cycloaurated compounds containing C,N-pincer ligands have been evaluated as precatalysts in theaddition reactions of 2-methylfuran and some electron-rich arenes to methyl
vinyl ketone. All complexeshave displayed a catalytic activity comparable to that reported for Au(I) complexes in the presence ofsilver salts. Compounds containing iminophosphorane ligands (R
3P=NR') as C,N-backbones such as[Au{
2-C,N-C
6H
4(PPh
2=N(C
6H
4X)-2}Cl
2] (X = H,
13; X = Me,
14) have been found to be the moreeffective in both the presence and absence of silver salts. With acid-sensitive electron-rich arenes thecatalytic activity of these cycloaurated complexes outperformed that of the AuCl
3 salt. The synthesis andcharacterization of new iminophosphorane coordination and organogold(III) compounds are providedalong with the results for the catalytic studies.