Construction of pyrazolodiazepines using AuI, a dual functional gold catalyst.

N , N '-5,7-Fused compounds are important molecules exhibiting medicinal potential. Herein, we report a practical and robust method for synthesising pyrazolodiazepines from N -piperidinyl alkynylhydrazides using a AuI catalyst. The broad substrate scope of alkynylhydrazides and synthetic application of pyrazolodiazepines are demonstrated. In addition, control experiments provide detailed information on the reaction mechanism, in which AuI promotes both the sequential intramolecular nucleophilic addition and the double nucleophilic substitution reaction as a π-acidic and nucleophilic dual functional catalyst.