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Updated: Jan 24, 2026

Palladium N-Heterocyclic Carbene Complexes: Synthesis from Benzimidazolium Salts and Catalytic Activity in Carbon-carbon Bond-forming Reactions
Published on: July 30, 2017
N-Heterocyclic Carbene Catalyzed Radical Coupling of Aldehydes with Redox-Active Esters
Runjiang Song1, Yonggui Robin Chi2,1
1Division of Chemistry and Biological Chemistry, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 21 Nanyang Link, Singapore, 637371, Singapore.
Abstract:
N-Heterocyclic carbene catalyzed radical reactions are challenging and underdeveloped. In a recent study, Ohmiya, Nagao and co-workers found that aldehyde carbonyl carbon centers can be coupled with alkyl radicals under NHC catalysis. An elegant aspect of this study is the use of a redox-active carboxylic ester that behaves as an single-electron oxidant to convert the Breslow intermediate into a radical adduct and concurrently release an alkyl radical intermediate as a reaction partner.
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