Output details

Sonogashira Coupling on an Extended Gold Surface in Vacuo: Reaction of Phenylacetylene with Iodobenzene on Au(111)

This paper demonstrates unambiguously and for the first time that heterogeneous cross-coupling of phenylacetylene and iodobenzene is an intrinsic property of extended smooth gold surfaces: no other species, even solvent molecules, are necessary. The molecules react on smooth Au(111) to yield the Sonogashira cross-coupled product; these are of paramount importance in synthetic organic chemistry. Roughened Au(111) is, in contrast, completely inert, indicating that the availability of crystallographically well-defined adsorption sites is crucial. These are ground-breaking results of major importance to the catalysis, surface science and organic synthesis communities.