A direct and practical approach for the synthesis of N-heterocyclic carbene coinage metal complexes

A novel direct and practical synthetic route leading to N-heterocyclic carbene coinage metal complexes has been developed by using air stable, commercial available Au(III) salt [MAuCl4·2H2O], CuCln (n=1,2) or AgCl, and imidazolium salts as starting materials. The reaction proceeded without sacrificing carbene transfer agent (Ag2O) or using highly sensitive free NHC.