Au(I)-catalyzed hydroacyloxylation of alkynes with carboxylic acids is described. PPh3AuCl/AgPF6 catalyst affords the Markonikov addition products, whereas PPh3AuCl/AgOTf catalyst gives the more stable isomerized products via the Markonikov products.

This communication describes the first phosphoramidate directing group for synthetically useful arylation. Remarkably, the nature of a new directing group drives selective C-H bond activation to afford diverse N-aryl phosphoramidates in good to excellent yields at room temperature.

Gold, gold, or …︁ gold? It depends on the (gold) catalyst whether the product of thermodynamic or kinetic control is formed in an unprecedented hydrophosphoryloxylation approach to enol phosphates (see scheme). A third catalyst, [(C6F5)3PAuOTf], was found to be exceedingly effective for the previously unknown isomerization of kinetic enol phosphates to the thermodynamically favored isomers. Tf=trifluoromethanesulfonyl; R=alkyl, cyclohexyl, Ph.

A new stereoselective synthesis of trisubstituted alkenes is developed. Hydrophosphoryloxylation of haloalkynes provides Z-alkenyl halophosphates, which undergo Pd-catalyzed consecutive cross-coupling reactions to afford regio- and stereodefined trisubstituted alkenes.