Gold-catalyzed rearrangement of substituted allyl aryl ethers

Triphenylphosphinegold(I) complexes catalyze the Claisen-type rearrangement of aryl allyl ethers to the corresponding branched and linear products. The product distribution depends on the olefin geometry of the allylic ether. Stereochemical transfer experiments support an ionic mechanism.

Ph3PAuOTf catalyzes the rearrangement of substituted allyl aryl ethers via an ionic mechanism to produce both branched and linear products.