Reactions of thioalkynes with diarylketenes via [3+2]-annulation versus benzannulation using Au and P(C 6 F 5 ) 3 catalysts.

Two catalytic annulations of non-symmetric diarylketenes with thioalkynes are described using gold and phosphine catalysts respectively. We employed α-aryldiazo ketones to generate gold-π-ketenes, ultimately yielding azulen-1-one derivatives. With the same reactants, we utilized P(C 6 F 5 ) 3 to increase the yields of 1-naphthols, notably with a complete regioselectivity.