Synthetic Strategies for the Generation of Molecular Complexity Driven by Gold Catalysis

The research of this thesis was directed towards developing novel strategies for the generation of molecular complexity that leverage the unique reactivity exhibited by gold and relay gold/chiral Brønsted acid catalysis. These endeavors resulted in the development of the regio- and chemoselective gold(I)-catalysed azo coupling of 1,2- and 1,4-diazoquinones with 1H-indoles. Likewise, the realisation of a synthetic method for the asymmetric synthesis of the venerable 1,1’-bi-2-naphthol scaffold with the aid of chiral gold catalysis was demonstrated. Moreover, the enantioselective and regiodivergent relay gold(I)- and chiral Brønsted acid-catalysed double cycloisomerisation of 1,10-dien-4-yn-3-yl acetates for the preparation of tricarbocyclic systems was unveiled.