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Updated: Dec 29, 2025

Palladium N-Heterocyclic Carbene Complexes: Synthesis from Benzimidazolium Salts and Catalytic Activity in Carbon-carbon Bond-forming Reactions
Published on: July 30, 2017
A Mechanistically and Operationally Simple Route to Metal-N-Heterocyclic Carbene (NHC) Complexes
Nikolaos V Tzouras1, Fady Nahra1,2, Laura Falivene3
1Department of Chemistry and Centre for Sustainable Chemistry, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281,S-3, 9000, Ghent, Belgium.
Abstract:
We have been puzzled by the involvement of weak organic and inorganic bases in the synthesis of metal-N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) complexes. Such bases are insufficiently strong to permit the presumed required deprotonation of the azolium salt (the carbene precursor) prior to metal binding. Experimental and computational studies provide support for a base-assisted concerted process that does not require free NHC formation. The synthetic protocol was found applicable to a number of transition-metal- and main-group-centered NHC compounds and could become the synthetic route of choice to form M-NHC bonds.
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