Gold-catalyzed intramolecular diazo coupling: an efficient macrocyclization towards cyclic olefins.

A gold-catalyzed intramolecular coupling of diazo compounds to produce cyclic olefins has been well established. The medium and large sized membered olefins were obtained in moderate to good yields. Notably, the Z/E selectivity of the olefins highly depended on the ring size. Furthermore, this investigation indicated that the structure of the phosphorous ligand binding to the gold centre played a vital role in the reaction efficiency. Also, high dilution of the reaction mixture is not needed.