Benzoin (and neither the Breslow intermediate nor the NHC-aldehyde tetrahedral adduct) has been unambiguously identified as the oxidised species in aerobic NHC-catalysed aldehyde esterifications.

A family of electronically diverse pyridyl- and picolyl-substituted imidazolium salts have been prepared and coordinated to palladium in a single step, to deliver a variety of palladium(ii)-N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) complexes. Neutral Pd(NHC)X2, cationic [Pd(NHC)2X]X and dicationic [Pd(NHC)2]X2-type complexes have been isolated and fully characterised, with single-crystal X-ray analysis reve...

Autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) has emerged as a novel approach to cartilage repair through the use of harvested chondrocytes. However, the expansion of the chondrocytes from the donor tissue in vitro is restricted by the limited cell numbers and the dedifferentiation of the chondrocytes. The present study investigated the effect of collagen-based films, including collagen, hydroxyapa...

In 2001, Sharpless and co-workers defined the concept of ‘Click Chemistry’ and the criteria for a transformation to be considered as ‘Click’. Since then, the copper-catalyzed reaction of azide and alkyne to produce 1,2,3-triazoles regioselectively (1,3dipolar Huisgen cycloaddition) has become the best Click reaction to date. Thanks to its mild conditions and high efficiency, this reaction has f...

Iridium complexes [(CO)2Ir(NHC-R)Cl] (R = Et-, 3a; PhCH2-, 3b; CH3OCH2CH2-, 3c; o-CH3OC6H4CH2-, 3d; NHC: N-heterocyclic carbene) are prepared via the carbene transfer from [(NHC-R)W(CO)5] to [Ir(COD)Cl]2. By using substitution with 13CO, we are able to estimate the activation energy (G) of the CO-exchange in 3a-d, which are in the range of 12-13 kcal mol-1, significantly higher than those for t...

A six-membered N-heterocyclic carbene fused with a spiro-scaffold is designed. The new NHC shows stronger σ-donation ability than typical 5-membered NHCs. This property leads to interesting reactivities of this spiro-fused six-membered NHC. For example, the NHC-BF3 Lewis pair complex can be readily prepared by using LiBF4 as the BF3 source, or through a direct bond-reconstruction of the tetrafl...

An N-alkyl imidazole bearing a neutral {Fe(NO)2}(10) dinitrosyliron complex (DNIC) when treated with sodium t-butoxide undergoes base-promoted conversion to the N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC)-DNIC, while maintaining the Fe(NO)2 unit intact. Subsequent alkylation led to the isolation of the NHC-DNIC product; further nitrosylation led to trinitrosyl (NHC)Fe(NO)3(+). Both were isolated and structura...

A remarkable nickelacycle has been synthesised via olefin metathesis of the α,ω-diene complex [Ni(η5-C5H4R)(Br)(NHC)] (R = C(CH3)2CH2CH[double bond, length as m-dash]CH2, NHC = 1-(6-hexenyl)-3-(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)-imidazol-2-ylidene). Single-crystal X-ray analysis reveals a helical shape of the molecule and stretching of some interatomic distances in the Ni(ii) coordination sphere. The Cp-NH...