Enantioselective Synthesis of Triarylmethanes via One-Pot Asymmetric Gold(I)/Rhodium(I) Relay Catalysis

The asymmetric synthesis of chiral triarylmethanes is highly challenging due to the difficulty in constructing a stereocenter at the central carbon, which is surrounded by three aryl groups and requires precise control over substituent spatial arrangement. Herein, we report a one-pot asymmetric gold(I)/rhodium(I) relay catalysis strategy for synthesizing chiral triarylmethanes. This bimetallic-catalyzed cascade reaction, involving intramolecular cyclization and enantioselective conjugate arylation, proceeds under mild conditions with high yields and enantioselectivities for a wide range of enynamides and arylboronic acids. The method enables efficient access to chiral triarylmethanes featuring a furan unit, including those with two or three heteroaryl groups. The synthetic utility of this approach is further demonstrated by diversifying products through transformations of the furan unit.