Facile access to 1,3-diketones by gold( i )-catalyzed regioselective hydration of ynones

A facile and efficient synthesis of 1,3-diketones was developed by the gold(i)-catalyzed regioselective hydration of ynones at room temperature. This methodology employed 2.5 mol% of PPh3AuCl and 3 mol% of AgOTf as a simple catalytic system without any special phosphine ligand and was compatible with a wide range of substrates, giving rise to 1,3-diaryl, 1-alkyl-3-aryl-, and 1,3-dialkyl-1,3-diketones in up to quantitative yields in open flask reactions. This methodology could be readily scaled up to gram-scales.