Catalysis using phosphane complexes

Until 1998, only gold(III) was believed to be effective for catalyzing these processes because, as mentioned previously, only the gold(I) compound K[Au (CN)2] was tested and it was inert to catalysis. Fortunately, Teles et al. reported very strong activity in the addition of alcohols to alkynes when they used cationic gold( I) -phosphane complexes [14]. In this study, the aforementioned authors tested for the first time the suitability of nucleophilic carbenes that displayed even greater activity than other gold complexes, but they were unable to synthesize the subsequent cationic derivatives. 

The status for homogeneous catalysis by gold in solution was dramatically transformed in 1998 by the results of Teles et al.11 This BASF group described the use of cationic Au1 complexes of the type [L-Au+] (where L is a phosphane, phosphite or arsine) for the addition of alcohols to alkynes in the presence of a Lewis or Brpnsted acid as a co-catalyst in methanol at 313 K. An example of such a reaction is the conversion of 3-hexyne to 3,3-dimethoxyhexane ... 

In recent years the synthesis of chiral and achiral tripodal phosphines and their application in homogeneous catalysis has been studied in more detail [2]. Enantiomerically pure tripodal ligands were synthesized from the corresponding trichloro compounds and chiral, cyclic lithio-phosphanes, e.g. 17, (Scheme 6) [21,22], Using a rhodium(I) complex of ligand 18, an enantiomeric excess of 89 % was obtained in the asymmetric hydrogenation reaction of methyl acetami-docinnamate (19). 

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