Advances in Versatile Chiral Ligands for Asymmetric Gold Catalysis

Abstract

The formation of valuable chiral skeletons through asymmetric gold catalysis has made considerable progress due to the unrivaled affinity of gold complexes with multiple carbon–carbon bonds. The renaissance of chiral ligands in recent decades has enabled the elaborate design of chiral gold complexes, which are of great significance to control chiral formation in these catalytic reactions. Therefore, this review intends to highlight the design and central role of versatile chiral ligands in asymmetric gold catalysis. Specifically, the seminal applications of various chiral ligands with representative examples in various gold-catalyzed asymmetric reactions are comprehensively explored. In addition, the reaction mechanisms are mentioned when the crucial interactions between ligands and activated substrates are introduced. Furthermore, the applications of enantioselective gold catalysis in the construction of chiral functional organic materials and drug molecules are also presented.