CHAPTER 11: NHC–Copper, –Silver and –Gold Complexes in Catalysis

The catalytic applications of Group 11 metals bearing N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligands are reviewed. General transformations involving NHC–Cu species are presented first, with an emphasis on recent reports concerning the nucleophilic transfer of hydrides, carbon-, boron- and silicon-based moieties. NHC–Ag-catalyzed reactions are then described and examples demonstrating their synthetic potential are given. This chapter is completed with an overview of typical NHC–Au-mediated reactions, including gold-catalyzed rearrangements and functionalizations of carbon–carbon π-bonds.