Gold-Catalyzed Heck and Suzuki-Type Reactions: Challenges and Recent Advances

Transition metal-catalyzed Suzuki and Heck reactions are two of the most common carbon-carbon bond formation reactions. Gold, unlike other transition metals (Pd, Ni, and Cu), offers unique reactivity profiles, and has emerged as an efficient tool in the field of synthetic organic chemistry. This mini-review focused on the recent work in gold-catalyzed Heck and Suzuki-type reactions, especially by photocatalysts or ligand design, which show reactivities and features distinct from other transition metals. These discoveries will further facilitate the development of gold redox catalysis as well as applications in organic synthesis, biochemistry, and medicinal chemistry.