Electrochemical Synthesis of Gold‐N‐Heterocyclic Carbene Complexes

An electrochemical synthesis of gold(I)‐N‐heterocyclic carbene (Au‐NHC) complexes has been developed. The electrochemical methodology uses only imidazolium salts, gold metal electrodes, and electricity to produce these complexes with hydrogen gas as the only by‐product. This high‐yielding and operationally simple procedure has been used to produce eight mononuclear and three dinuclear Au‐NHC complexes. The electrochemical procedure facilitates a clean reaction with no by‐products. As such, Au‐NHC complexes can be directly transferred to catalytic reactions without work‐up or purification. The Au‐NHC complexes were produced on‐demand and tested as catalysts in a vinylcyclopropanation reaction. All mononuclear Au‐NHC complexes performed similarly to or better than the isolated complexes. An electrochemical synthesis of gold(I)‐N‐heterocyclic carbene (Au‐NHC) complexes has been developed in which the only by‐product is hydrogen gas. This enables the clean Au‐NHC complexes to be transferred directly to subsequent catalytic reactions without extra work‐up. This telescoped methodology has been showcased for several mononuclear and dinuclear Au‐NHC complexes in a catalytic vinylcyclopropanation reaction, delivering high yields and demonstrating procedural simplicity.