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1. Switchable Organocatalysis from N ‐heterocyclic Carbene‐Carbodiimide Adducts with Tunable Release Temperature**

   https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202314376  

   Pham, Le Dung; Smith‐Sweetser, Red O.; Krupinsky, Briana; Dewey, Carolyn E.; Lamb, Jessica R. (October 2023, Angewandte Chemie International Edition)

   Abstract N‐Heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) are powerful organocatalysts, but practical applications often require in situ generation from stable precursors that “mask” the NHC reactivity via reversible binding. Previously established “masks” are often simple small molecules, such that the NHC structure is used to control both catalytic activity and activation temperature, leading to undesirable tradeoffs. Herein, we show that NHC‐carbodiimide (CDI) adducts can be masked precursors for switchable organocatalysis and that the CDI substituents can control the reaction profile without changing the NHC structure. Large electronic variations on the CDI (e.g., alkyl versus aryl) drastically change the catalytically active temperature, whereas smaller perturbations (e.g., differentpara‐substituted phenyls) tune the catalyst release within a narrower window. This control was demonstrated for three classic NHC‐catalyzed reactions, each influencing the NHC‐CDI equilibrium in different ways. Our results introduce a new paradigm for controlling NHC organocatalysis as well as present practical considerations for designing appropriate masks for various reactions. 

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2. Tunable iridium catalyst designs with bidentate N-heterocyclic carbene ligands for SABRE hyperpolarization of sterically hindered substrates

   https://doi.org/10.1039/D0CC06840C  

   Pham, Pierce; Hilty, Christian (December 2020, Chemical Communications)

   null (Ed.)

   A series of bidentate N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) iridium catalysts, [Ir(κC,N-NHC)H 2 L 2 ]BPh 4 , are proposed for SABRE hyperpolarization. The steric and electronic properties of the NHCs are used to tune substrate affinity and thereby SABRE efficiency. The sterically hindered substrates 2,4-diaminopyrimidine and trimethoprim yielded maximum proton NMR signal enhancements of ∼300-fold and ∼150-fold, respectively. 

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3. Ad aurum: tunable transfer of N-heterocyclic carbene complexes to gold surfaces

   https://doi.org/10.1039/d2qi01941h  

   Dominique, Nathaniel L.; Chen, Ran; Santos, Alyssa V.; Strausser, Shelby L.; Rauch, Theodore; Kotseos, Chandler Q.; Boggess, William C.; Jensen, Lasse; Jenkins, David M.; Camden, Jon P. (November 2022, Inorganic Chemistry Frontiers)

   The exceptional stability of N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) monolayers on gold surfaces and nanoparticles (AuNPs) is enabling new and diverse applications from catalysis to biomedicine. Our understanding of NHC reactivity at surfaces; however, is quite nascent when compared to the long and rich history of NHC ligands in organometallic chemistry. In this work, well-established transmetalation reactions, previously developed for NHC transfer in homogeneous organometallic systems, are explored to determine how they can be used to create carbene functionalized gold surfaces. Two classes of NHCs, based on imidazole and benzimidazole scaffolds, were tested. The resulting AuNP surfaces were analyzed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry (LDI-MS), and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). Reaction of either a Au( i ) or Ag( i ) isopropyl benzimidazole NHC complex with citrate-capped AuNPs yields, in both cases, a chemisorbed NHC that is bound through a Au adatom. Theoretical calculations additionally illustrate that binding through the Au adatom is favored by more than 10 kcal mol −1 , in good agreement with experiments. Surprisingly, reaction of Au( i ), Ag( i ), and Cu( i ) diisopropylphenyl imidazole NHCs do not follow the same pattern. The Cu complex undergoes transmetalation with very little deposition of Cu; whereas, unexpectedly, the Ag complex foregoes transmetalation and instead adducts to the AuNP with retention of the Ag–C bond. Theoretical calculations illustrate that the imidazole ligand affords significant dispersion interactions with the gold surface, which may stabilize binding through the Ag adatom motif, despite its less favorable bonding energies. Taken together these results suggest a unique ability to tune the reactivity by changing the carbene structure and raise critical questions about how established transmetalation reactions in organometallic chemistry can be applied to form NHC functionalized surfaces. 

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4. Preferential N–H⋯:C hydrogen bonding involving ditopic NH -containing systems and N -heterocyclic carbenes

   https://doi.org/10.1039/d0ra08490e  

   Kinney, Zacharias J.; Rheingold, Arnold L.; Protasiewicz, John D. (November 2020, RSC Advances)

   null (Ed.)

   Hydrogen bonding plays a critical role in maintaining order and structure in complex biological and synthetic systems. N -heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) represent one of the most versatile tools in the synthetic chemistry toolbox, yet their potential as neutral carbon hydrogen bond acceptors remains underexplored. This report investigates this capability in a strategic manner, wherein carbene-based hydrogen bonding can be assessed by use of ditopic NH -containing molecules. N–H bonds are unique as there are three established reaction modes with carbenes: non-traditional hydrogen bonding adducts (X–H⋯:C), salts arising from proton transfer ([H–C] + [X] − ), or amines from insertion of the carbene into the N–H bond. Yet, there are no established rules to predict product distributions or the strength of these associations. Here we seek to correlate the hydrogen bond strength of symmetric and asymmetric ditopic secondary amines with 1,3-bis(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)imidazol-2-ylidene ( IPr , a representative NHC). In symmetric and asymmetric ditopic amine adducts both the solid-state (hydrogen bond lengths, NHC interior angles) and solution-state ( 1 H Δ δ of NH signals, 13 C signals of carbenic carbon) can be related to the p K a of the parent amine. 

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5. A Rigidified Macrocyclic Grubbs Complex: A Rare Example of In - and Out -Isomers that Show a Dramatic Difference in Catalytic Reactivity

   https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.organomet.4c00331  

   Davalos-Morinigo, Anibal R; Vemulapalli, Srini; Dudding, Travis; Diver, Steven T (September 2024, Organometallics)

   Chirik, Paul (Ed.)

   The design of a rigidified macrocyclic N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligand led to the formation and structural characterization of in- and out-Ru carbene complexes. In this study, introduction of a conformational lock was used to rigidify heteroaryl-aryl bonds and thereby enforce a more perpendicular dihedral angle. A forcing metalation step was needed to form the isomeric Ru carbene complexes (Grubbs complexes). The major isomer had the Ru carbene fragment located outside the macrocyclic ring whereas the minor isomer had the Ru carbene inside the macrocyclic ring. The two new Ru carbene complexes are the first examples of in- and out-isomers of a Grubbs-type complex. The solid state structures of each isomeric ruthenium carbene complex was determined by x-ray diffraction studies. The two Ru complexes showed significantly different catalytic reactivity in the ring-closing metathesis (RCM) of the benchmark substrate, diethyl diallylmalonate. We performed computational studies to determine rotational barriers; scalable energetic barriers were found in the unmetallated NHC ligand, favoring the in-isomer by 2.4 kcal/mol. These calculations, coupled with attempted interconversion of isomers, support a mechanism featuring rotational isomerization of the NHC nucleophile in a preequilibrium step before metalation. 

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