Isolable vinylgold intermediates — first access to phantoms of homogeneous gold catalysis

For more than a decade vinylgold(I) compounds were written as intermediates in gold-catalysed reactions of alkynes and allenes, but only now the experimental proof for their participation in catalytic cycles could be obtained. This includes preparative access to these species, which for the first time allows to expand this aspect of organogold chemistry in new directions.