An Environmentally Friendly, Photochemical Access to [N^C^N]Au(III) Pincer Complexes by Oxidative Addition

Starting from commercially available DMSAuCl and diazonium salts, cationic [N^C^N]Au(III) complexes were synthesized in a selective, photosensitizer-free, photochemical reaction by irradiation with blue LED light. This new protocol represents the first easy synthesis of these types of pincer-complexes in moderate to excellent yield starting from a readily available gold(I) precursor with nitrogen as the only byproduct. Owing to the disadvantages of known protocols, especially the toxicity in case of a transmetallation with mercury or the necessity for a mostly twofold excess of a gold precursor, this method offers an attractive alternative towards this kind of gold(III) complexes. In addition, the first arylated [N^C^N]Au(III) pincer-complex was synthesized by using this technology.