Steric and electronic effects of the tertiary phosphine ligand on the dissociative reductive elimination from cis-aryldimethyl(triarylphosphine)gold(III)

Article abstract of DOI:10.1021/om00123a012

A series of cis-aryldimethyl(triarylphosphine)gold(III) complexes, cis-Au(C₆H₄Y)Me₂(P(C₆H ₄X)₃) (X = p-OMe, p-Me, H, p-F, o-Me; Y = p-OMe, p-Me, H, p-F, o-OMe, o-Me) and AuPhMe₂(P(C₆H₄-O-Me)_nPh _3-n) (n = 0-2), has been prepared by the alkylation of cis-AuMe₂IL by the corresponding Grignard reagents. Electron withdrawal from and the steric bulk of the triarylphosphine ligand as well as electron donation by the aryl ligand enhances phosphine dissociation, leading to a facile and selective reductive elimination of aryl Me.