The Golden Age of Gold Catalysis in Organic Synthesis

Gold(I/III) catalysis has became a solid and concrete reality in the modern scenario of organic synthesis. The peculiar attitude of this coinage metal towards electrophilic activation of unsaturated unfunctionalized hydrocarbons, concurred to define gold among the most utilized transition metals in catalytic organic transformations, currently. Our group has recently contributed to this field by developing a number of gold catalyzed stereoselective manipulations of environmentally benign π-activated alcohols (i.e. allylic and propargylic). A brief summary of these achievements will be discussed here.