Towards Dual-Metal Catalyzed Hydroalkoxylation of Alkynes

Poly (vinyl ethers) are compounds with great value in the coating industry due to exhibiting properties such as high viscosity, soft adhesiveness, resistance saponification and solubility water organic solvents. However, main challenge this field is synthesis of vinyl ether monomers that can be synthetized by methodologies transfer, reduction phosphate ether, isomerization, hydrogenation acetylenic ethers, elimination, addition alcohols alkyne species etc. Nevertheless, most successful strategy access derivatives alkynes catalyzed transition metals molybdenum, tungsten, ruthenium, palladium, platinum, gold, silver, iridium rhodium, where gold-NHC catalysts have shown best results synthesis. Recently, hydrophenoxylation reaction was found proceed through a digold-assisted process determine rate PhO-[Au(IPr)] alkyne-[Au(IPr)]. Later, improvement using mixed combination Cu-NHC Au-NHC also reported. DFT studies confirmed cost-effective method for located rate-determining step, which turned out quite sensitive sterical hindrance NHC ligands.