General Mechanochemical Synthetic Protocol to Late Transition Metal-NHC (N-Heterocyclic Carbene) Complexes

A user-friendly and highly efficient mechanochemical strategy for the synthesis of a number of well-defined, catalytically relevant N-heterocyclic carbene-metal complexes under aerobic conditions is reported. This protocol proceeds in good to excellent yields and limits solvent usage to the purification step, which can be carried out, after judicious selection, using minimal amounts of environmentally benign solvents.

Automated summary

A user-friendly and highly efficient mechanochemical strategy for the synthesis of well-defined, catalytically relevant N-heterocyclic carbene-metal complexes is reported. The protocol yields good to excellent results and minimizes solvent usage by only using environmentally benign solvents in the purification step.