The formation of aryl gold(I) carbenes from 7-substituted cycloheptatrienes via a retro-Buchner reaction has recently emerged as a safe and versatile alternative to decomposition of diazo compounds. However, the carbene formation takes places at high temperatures, which puts a limit on its application. This thesis summarizes the work done to overcome this drawback and enhance the versatility of this transformation.

Free carbenes can be generated from light-induced decomposition of 1H-cyclopropa[l]phenanthrenes, which bear great resemblance to the norcaradiene tautomer of cycloheptatriene. Therefore, the propensity to form gold(I) carbenes via the retro-Buchner reaction of phenanthrene derivatives was investigated, albeit without finding significant improvements over the cycloheptatriene derivatives.

The formation of vinyl gold(I) carbenes from 7-alkenyl cycloheptatrienes takes place at significantly lower temperatures. Based on this observation, a highly cis-selective olefin cyclopropanation reaction has been developed, affording vinylcyclopropanes and vinyl-aminocyclopropanes in moderate to good yield. The 7-alkenyl cycloheptatriene derivatives can be formed in a single step from aldehydes and ketones by a novel Julia-Kocienski reagent.

The mechanisms of the gold(I)-mediated retro-Buchner, cyclopropanation, and epimerization reactions for vinylcyclopropanes have been studied experimentally and computationally, which led to the development of an advanced stereochemical model for gold(I)-catalyzed cyclopropanation reactions.

Owing to the mechanistic insights, and the improved strategy for the synthesis of cycloheptatriene reagents, a sterically encumbered cycloheptatriene derivative was developed, which allows the formation of gold(I) carbenes at room temperature, paving the way for a broad-scope enantioselective cyclopropanation reaction.