Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 28, 2025

Photogeneration of N-Heterocyclic Carbenes: Application in Photoinduced Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization
Published on: November 29, 2018
Charge-Tagged N-Heterocyclic Carbenes (NHCs): Revealing the Hidden Side of NHC-Catalysed Reactions through
Chiara Salvitti1, Isabella Chiarotto2, Federico Pepi1
1Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, Sapienza Università di Roma, P.le Aldo Moro 5, Rome, Italy.
Abstract:
N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) are key intermediates in a variety of chemical reactions. Owing to their transient nature, the interception and characterization of these reactive species have always been challenging. Similarly, the study of reaction mechanisms in which carbenes act as catalysts is still an active research field. This Minireview describes the contribution of electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) to the detection of charge-tagged NHCs resulting from the insertion of an ionic group into the molecular scaffold. The use of different mass spectrometric techniques, combined with the charge-tagging strategy, allowed clarification of the involvement of NHCs in archetypal reactions and the study of their intrinsic chemistry.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Chemical Ionization (CI) Mass Spectrometry
2D NMR: Overview of Heteronuclear Correlation Techniques
2D NMR: Heteronuclear Single-Quantum Correlation Spectroscopy (HSQC)
Mass Spectrometry: Branched Alkane Fragmentation
Mass Spectrometry: Carboxylic Acid, Ester, and Amide Fragmentation
For example, the...
Nucleophilic Aromatic Substitution: Elimination–Addition

