ABSTRACT Thiamine diphosphate (ThDP), or cocarboxylase, is an enzyme cofactor that catalyzes crucial metabolic reactions via a thiazolium carbene in all living systems. In this study, we successfully exploit this N ‐heterocyclic carbene ligand for the efficient synthesis of a monodentate gold (I) complex. The resulting ThDP = AuCl complex efficiently catalyzes intramolecular hydroamination, hydroalkoxylation, and hydrocarboxylation of a diverse array of alkyne substrates in water and open air at mild temperatures. This new metal catalyst is environmentally friendly and holds promise for the construction of novel artificial metalloenzymes.
Dai et al. (Thu,) studied this question.