Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 22, 2025

Palladium N-Heterocyclic Carbene Complexes: Synthesis from Benzimidazolium Salts and Catalytic Activity in Carbon-carbon Bond-forming Reactions
Published on: July 30, 2017
Mononuclear Cu Complexes Based on Nitrogen Heterocyclic Carbene: A Comprehensive Review
Sina Matavos-Aramyan1, Sadaf Soukhakian2, Mohammad Hossein Jazebizadeh2
1Research and Development Department, Division of Chemistry, Raazi Environmental Protection Foundation, Shiraz, Iran. matavos@repf.info.
Nitrogen heterocyclic carbene (NHC) complexes, especially mononuclear copper(I) NHCs, have revolutionized organometallic and catalytic chemistry. This review details their development, applications in catalysis and biosynthesis, and future research directions.
Area of Science:
- Organometallic Chemistry
- Coordination Chemistry
- Catalysis
Background:
- Nitrogen heterocyclic carbene (NHC) complexes have significantly impacted the chemistry of 3D metals like copper over the past decade.
- Mononuclear copper(I) NHC complexes demonstrate broad utility in diverse fields including biosynthesis, catalysis, and photochemistry.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide a comprehensive review of mononuclear copper(I) NHC complexes.
- To detail the development, emergence, and applications of these complexes.
- To offer insights into subcategories like heteroleptic and heteroatom complexes.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of organometallic, coordination, and catalytic chemistry studies.
- Analysis of the development and applications of copper(I) NHC complexes.
- Categorization of complexes including heteroleptics and bidentate/tridentate heteroatom complexes.
Main Results:
- NHC complexes have become pivotal in copper chemistry.
- Mononuclear Cu(I) NHC complexes exhibit significant versatility in applications.
- Detailed insights into the evolution and diverse uses of these complexes are presented.
Conclusions:
- Copper(I) NHC complexes represent a significant advancement in modern chemistry.
- This review consolidates knowledge on their synthesis, properties, and applications.
- An outlook is provided to guide future research in Cu(I)-based NHC chemistry.
Related Concept Videos
Metal-Ligand Bonds
In these complexes, transition metals form coordinate covalent bonds, a kind of Lewis acid-base interaction in which both of the electrons in the bond are contributed by a donor (Lewis base) to an electron acceptor (Lewis acid). The Lewis acid in...
Coordination Compounds and Nomenclature
Five-Membered Heterocyclic Aromatic Compounds: Overview
Ladder Diagrams: Complexation Equilibria
The formation constant, K1, for the formation of Cd(NH3)2+ complex from cadmium and ammonia is 3.55 × 102. Log K1 (i.e. pNH3) is 2.55, and...
Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution: Nitration of Benzene
Properties of Organometallic Compounds

