Mechanistic details for oxidative addition of PhICl₂ to gold(i) complexes

Abstract

This study demonstrates that the oxidative addition of hypervalent iodine PhICl2 to Au(i) complexes LAuAr follows an unprecedented stepwise mechanism. The energy of the Au(i) dx2−y2 orbital determines the ease of the oxidative addition reaction; the fewer electron-withdrawing substituents present on the Ar ligand, the higher the energy of the dx2−y2 orbital and the easier the oxidative addition. Show more