Electrogenerated NHCs in Organic Synthesis: Ionic Liquids vs Organic Solvents Effects
Fabrizio Vetica1, Martina Bortolami2, Rita Petrucci2
1Department of Chemistry, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185, Rome, Italy.
Abstract:
In the last twenty years, N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) have been extensively studied for their application as organocatalysts in stereoselective synthesis as well as ligands for transition metals-promoted synthetic methodologies. Derived mainly from azolium salts, NHCs have demonstrated exceptional versatility in their generation usually performed by deprotonation or reduction (chemical or electrochemical). In particular, the generation of NHC under electrochemical conditions, starting from azolium-based ionic liquids, has proven to be a successful green approach and demonstrated wide applicability in organic synthesis. In this Personal Account, the application of electrogenerated NHCs in organic synthesis will be discussed, with a particular attention to the different reactivity in ionic liquids compared to classical organic solvents.
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