Gold(I)/(III)-catalyzed rearrangement of divinyl ketones and acyloxyalkynyloxiranes into cyclopentenones.

Multifaceted gold(I/III) catalysts with their carbophilic and oxophilic characters catalyzed very efficiently the formation of hydroxylated cyclopentenones from simple divinyl ketones or acyloxyalkynyloxiranes. The Nazarov reaction is rapidly performed in dichloroethane with 5 mol % of the simple gold(III) trichloride salt at 70 °C, while the rearrangement of alkynyloxiranes requires 5 mol % of a more stable NHC gold(III) triflimidate complex.