Carbenes as ligands

Nolan SP, Viciu MS (2005) The Use of N-Heterocyclic Carbenes as Ligands in Palladium Mediated Catalysis. 14 241-278... 

The first examples utilising A-heterocyclic carbenes as ligands in the Buchwald-Hartwig amination involved the in situ formation of the catalyst from the corresponding imidazolium salt and a Pd(0) source. Nolan reported IPr-HCl/PdjCdbalj as a catalytic system for the amination of aryl chlorides in excellent yields, using different types of amines, anilines, and also imines or indoles [142,143] (Scheme 6.46). Hartwig showed later that in some cases the reactions could be performed at room temperature and without anhydrous conditions even for aryl chlorides [ 144]. This was later shown for the less challenging bromides and iodides [145,146]. 

In view of the versatility of A-heterocyclic carbenes as ligands and their structural diversity in silver(i) coordination chemistry, an extension of the work to ligands with two or more carbene moieties was reported. A dinuclear silver(i) complex 52 (Figure 21) with an o-phenylenedimethylene-bridged bis(carbene) ligand has been synthesized in 66% yield from silver(i) oxide and the bis(imidazolium) salt.88 The reaction to synthesize 52 has to be carried out in... 

Youngs and co-workers extended the chemistry toward synthesizing water-soluble silver carbene complexes 68a-68c (Figure 28) by using hydroxyl-containing pincer-type iV-heterocyclic carbenes as ligands.1 4 It is interesting... 

Carbenes are both reactive intermediates and ligands in catalysis. They occur as intermediates in the alkene metathesis reaction (Chapter 16) and the cyclopropanation of alkenes. As intermediates they carry hydrogen and carbon substituents and belong therefore to the class of Schrock carbenes. As ligands they contain nitrogen substituents and are clearly Fischer carbenes. They have received a great deal of attention in the last decade as ligands in catalytic metal complexes [58], but the structural motive was already explored in the early seventies [59],... 

Despagnet-Ayoub E, Ritter T (2006) N-Heterocyclic Carbenes as Ligands for Olefin Metathesis Catalysts. 2f 193-218... 

Rogers MM, Stahl SS (2006) N-Heterocyclic Carbenes as Ligands for High-Oxidation-State Metal Complexes and Oxidation Catalysis. 21 21-46 Roland S, Mangeney P (2005) Chiral Diaminocarbene Complexes, Synthesis and Application in Asymmetric Catalysis. 15 191-229 Roll R, see Behr A (2008) 23 19-52... 

Different types of stabilization modes are known to provide a range of stable carbenes with different electronic and steric properties. In this section, we categorize the stable non-NHC carbenes by the type of stabilization mode involved, in order to highlight their effect on the properties of the carbene as ligand. 

NHCs have become ligands almost as common as phosphines. This is widely exemplified in a book edited by Nolan.23 We will therefore limit this overview of carbenes as ligands to unusual applications and significant publications regarding their coordination chemistry. 

The attractivity of N-heterocyclic carbenes as ligands for transition metal catalysis is a result of the following features. 

N-Heterocydic Carbenes as Ligands for Olefin Metathesis Catalysts... 

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