A gold-catalyzed oxidative coupling of alkynes was developed as an efficient approach for the synthesis of challenging cyclic conjugated diynes (CCD). Compared to the classical copper-promoted oxidative coupling reaction of alkynes, this gold-catalyzed process exhibits a faster reaction rate due to the rapid reductive elimination from the Au(III) intermediate. This unique reactivity thus allowed a challenging diyne macrocyclization to take place in high efficiency. Condition screening revealed a [(n-Bu)4N]+[Cl-Au-Cl]- salt as the optimal pre-catalyst. Macrocycles with ring size between 13 to 28 atoms were prepared in moderate to good yields, which highlighted the broad substrate scope of this new strategy. Furthermore, the synthetic utilities of the cyclic conjugated diynes for copper-free click chemistry have been demonstrated, which showcased the potential application of this strategy in biological systems.
Keywords: Gold catalysis; cyclic conjugated diynes; macrocyclization; oxidative coupling.