The role of ligands in catalysis has been largely studied and various theoretical and experimental parameters such as cone angle, percent buried volume, etc. are available at a chemist’s disposal. In contrast, the choice of weakly coordinating anions (WCAs) is often overlooked in rational catalyst design, despite the significant role they can play depending on their mode and extent of coordination to the metal. Charge-diffused Imidazolyl-phenyl(IMP-R) anions are an alternative to traditional WCAs in their coordination ability, which can be varied by modifying the R group. Here we explore the effects of WCA and their binding aptitude by varying the identity of the anions as well as the nature of the solvents to enhance the rate of the internal alkyne hydration reaction. Further, we are also interested in probing the mechanistic aspect of the reaction, which is often ignored for gold-catalyzed reactions.

Using electronically varied weakly coordinating anions(WCA) in gold catalysis for efficient hydration of internal alkynes

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

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