Gold-catalyzed cascade C-H/C-H cross-coupling/cyclization/alkynylation: an efficient access to 3-alkynylpyrroles.

An efficient approach to 3-alkynylpyrroles has been developed through the gold-catalyzed reaction of beta-enamino derivatives with terminal alkynes, which features complete regiocontrol, relatively wide substrate scope, and high functional group tolerance. Mechanistic studies show that the reaction proceeds through the gold-catalyzed cascade oxidative C-H/C-H cross-coupling, cyclization and alkynylation.