Small-molecule activation at Au(III): metallacycle construction from ethylene, water and acetonitrile

Incorporation of the simple, readily available, building blocks ethylene, water and acetonitrile into Au(tpy)(OCOCF3)2 (tpy = 2-(p-tolyl)pyridine) in a one-step reaction leads to high yields of a new 6-membered ring gold(III) metallacycle complex. The metallacycle has been characterized spectroscopically and crystallographically, and the mechanism of its formation has been investigated with the aid of DFT calculations.