The oxidative addition of Csp2–Br or Csp2–I bonds to gold(I) does not take place even under very favorable intramolecular conditions that could form five- or six-membered gold(III) metallacycles. DFT calculations reveal that although this process could be feasible thermodynamically, it is kinetically very sluggish.
![Rationale for the sluggish oxidative addition of aryl halides to Au(I)](https://www.iciq.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Rationale-for-the-sluggish_ChemComm20EchavFeliu.gif)