Bottom-up Synthesis of Water-Soluble Gold Nanoparticles Stabilized by N-Heterocyclic Carbenes: From Structural Characterization to Applications

N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) have become attractive ligands for functionalizing gold nanoparticle surfaces with applications ranging from catalysis to biomedicine. Despite their great potential, NHC stabilized gold colloids (NHC@AuNPs) are still scarcely explored and further efforts should be conducted to improve their design and functionalization. Here, the ‘bottom-up’ synthesis of two water-soluble gold nanoparticles ( AuNP-1 and AuNP-2 ) stabilized by hydrophilic mono- and bidentate NHC ligands is reported together with their characterization by various spectroscopic and analytical methods. The NPs showed key differences likely to be due to the selected NHC ligand systems. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images showed small quasi-spherical and faceted NHC@AuNPs of similar particle size (ca. 2.3–2.6 nm) and narrow particle size distribution, but the colloids featured different ratios of Au(I)/Au(0) by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Furthermore, the NHC@AuNPs were supported on titania and fully characterized. The new NPs were studied for their catalytic activity towards the reduction of nitrophenol substrates, the reduction of resazurin and for their photothermal efficiency. Initial results on their application in photothermal therapy (PTT) were obtained in human cancer cells in vitro. The aforementioned reactions represent important model reactions towards wastewater remediation, bioorthogonal transformations and cancer treatment.     

Recent advances in the synthesis,structural diversity,and applications of mesoionic 1,2,3-triazol-5-ylidene metal complexes

Beyond the classic N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) there is a subclass of NHCs called mesoionic carbenes (MICs). This review focuses on recent advances in the area of 1,2,3-triazol-5-ylidenes as the most abundant class of MICs and their metal complexes. The study of mesoionic 1,2,4- and 1,3,4-trisubstituted 1,2,3-triazol-5-ylidene transition metal complexes is a research area with a history of just ～10 years. During this relatively short period, hundreds of these complexes have appeared in the literature, reflecting their high stability and simpler synthesis compared with NHCs. Specifically, this review is focused on advances in the synthesis of 1,2,3-triazol-5-ylidene metal complexes derived from palladium, silver, gold, ruthenium, iridium, rhodium, iron, molybdenum, cobalt, nickel, platinum, and osmium, together with their catalytic, medicinal, and photophysical applications.     

New Route to Stabilize Ruthenium Nanoparticles with Non‐Isolable Chiral N‐Heterocyclic Carbenes

Ru nanoparticles (RuNPs) stabilized by non‐isolable chiral N‐heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs), namely SIDPhNp ((4S,5S)‐1,3‐di(naphthalen‐1‐yl)‐4,5‐diphenylimidazolidine) and SIPhOH ((S)‐3‐((1S,2R)‐2‐hydroxy‐1,2‐diphenylethyl)‐1‐((R)‐2‐hydroxy‐1,2‐diphenylethyl)‐4,5‐dihydro‐3H‐imidazoline), have been synthesized through a new procedure that does not require isolation of the free carbenes. The obtained RuNPs have been characterized by state‐of‐the‐art techniques and their surface chemistry has been investigated by FTIR and solid‐state MAS NMR upon the coordination of CO, which indicated the presence of free and reactive Ru sites. Their catalytic activity has been tested in various hydrogenation reactions involving competition between different sites, whereby interesting differences in selectivity were observed, but no enantioselectivity.     

Experimental and Theoretical Study of the Reactivity of Gold Nanoparticles Towards Benzimidazole‐2‐ylidene Ligands

The reactivity of benzimidazol‐2‐ylidenes with respect to gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) has been investigated using a combined experimental and computational approach. First, the grafting of benzimidazol‐2‐ylidenes bearing benzyl groups on the nitrogen atoms is described, and comparisons are made with structurally similar N‐heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) bearing other N‐groups. Similar reactivity was observed for all NHCs, with 1) the erosion of the AuNPs under the effect of the NHC and 2) the formation of bis(NHC) gold complexes. DFT calculations were performed to investigate the modes of grafting of such ligands, to determine adsorption energies, and to rationalize the spectroscopic data. Two types of computational models were developed to describe the grafting onto large or small AuNPs, with either periodic or cluster‐type DFT calculations. Calculations of NMR parameters were performed on some of these models, and discussed in light of the experimental data.     

The importance of four-membered NHCs in stabilizing Breslow intermediates on benzoin condensation pathway

N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) have been established to be effective organocatalysts for facilitating the benzoin condensation and many other reactions. These reactions involve the formation of a Breslow intermediate (BI), which exhibits umpolung chemistry. To facilitate organocatalysis, several new cyclic carbenes are being introduced, four-membered NHCs are of special interest. Whether these NHCs can exhibit catalytic influence or not, can be evaluated by exploring the potential energy surface (PES) of the benzoin condensation reaction. Quantum chemical analysis has been carried out to compare the PES of these four-membered NHCs with that of standard five-membered NHCs to explore their catalytic ability. The barrier for the first step of the reaction for the formation of BI is comparable in all the cases. But the barrier for the second step of the reaction leading to the benzoin formation from BI is estimated to be very high for the four membered NHCs. These results indicate that the probability of identifying and isolating the BI is very high in comparison to the completion of benzoin condensation reaction in the case of the four-membered NHCs.     

Investigations on Novel 1,3-Diazetidine Based Four-Membered N-Heterocyclic Carbenes

Attempts towards the synthesis of two novel four-membered 1,3-diazetidine based N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) containing an organic backbone with a carbonyl functionality were undertaken. These carbenes cannot be isolated but the respective carbene dimers are obtained in quantitative yield which undergo a degradation and rearrangement sequence upon thermal exposure. Some of the species involved in these thermal reactions could be isolated and characterized, others were observed by mass spectrometric experiments. Ab initio and density functional theory (DFT) calculations provide a mechanistic rationale for the experimental observations. Since dimerization is strongly favored, classic carbene trapping reactions remain a goal to achieve.     

Continuous‐Flow N‐Heterocyclic Carbene Generation and Organocatalysis

Two methods were assessed for the generation of common N‐heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) from stable imidazol(in)ium precursors using convenient and straightforward continuous‐flow setups with either a heterogeneous inorganic base (Cs₂CO₃ or K₃PO₄) or a homogeneous organic base (KN(SiMe₃)₂). In‐line quenching with carbon disulfide revealed that the homogeneous strategy was most efficient for the preparation of a small library of NHCs. The generation of free nucleophilic carbenes was next telescoped with two benchmark NHC‐catalyzed reactions; namely, the transesterification of vinyl acetate with benzyl alcohol and the amidation of N‐Boc‐glycine methyl ester with ethanolamine. Both organocatalytic transformations proceeded with total conversion and excellent yields were achieved after extraction, showcasing the first examples of continuous‐flow organocatalysis with NHCs.     

Recent Advances in the Chemistry of N‐Heterocyclic‐Carbene‐Functionalized Metal‐Nanoparticles and Their Applications

Metal‐nanoparticles (M‐NPs) have been widely applied in catalysis, imaging, sensing and medicine. One particularly active area of this research is the modification of the surface of the nanoparticles to prevent aggregation through the coordination of ligands. N‐Heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) have emerged as suitable ligands for this purpose due to their affinity to the metals and their strongly electron donating nature. A number of rationally designed NHC‐modified M‐NPs have been developed using strategies based on metal complex decomposition and ligand exchange. Herein, NHC‐stabilized M‐NPs based on a range of transition metals, especially the recent advances, were summarized.     

N-Heterocyclic Carbenes Catalyzed Phospho-Aldol Reaction of Aldehydes

An efficient phospho-aldol reaction of aldehydes catalyzed by N-heterocyclic carbenes （NHCs） has been developed. With 10 mol% stable NHC 1,3-bis（2,6-diisopropylphenyl）imidazol-2-ylidene, various aldehydes reacted with dialkylphosphites smoothly to provide a-hydroxy phosphonates in 59%--99% yield. In this process, NHC was assumed to function as a carbon-centered bronsted base.     

Electronic and ligating properties of carbocyclic carbenes: A theoretical investigation

Carbocyclic carbenes (CCCs) are a class of nucleophilic carbenes which are very similar to N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) in terms of their reactivity, but they do not contain a stabilizing heteroatom in their cyclic ring system. In this study, 17 representative known CCCs and 34 newly designed CCCs are evaluated using quantum chemical methods, and the results are compared in terms of their stability, nucleophilicity, and proton affinity (PA) parameters. The results are divided on the basis of ring size of the known and reported CCCs. The stability, nucleophilicity, PA, complexation energy, and bond strength–related parameters were estimated using M06/6-311++G(d,p) method. The results indicated that the CCCs known in the literature are strong σ-electron donating species and have considerable π-accepting properties. This study led to the design and identification of a few new CCCs with dimethylamine and diaminomethynyl substituents which can be singlet stable and are substantially nucleophilic. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

A Benchtop Method for Appending Protic Functional Groups to N‐Heterocyclic Carbene Protected Gold Nanoparticles

The remarkable resilience of N‐heterocyclic carbene (NHC) gold bonds has quickly made NHCs the ligand of choice when functionalizing gold surfaces. Despite rapid progress using deposition from free or CO₂‐protected NHCs, synthetic challenges hinder the functionalization of NHC surfaces with protic functional groups, such as alcohols and amines, particularly on larger nanoparticles. Here, we synthesize NHC‐functionalized gold surfaces from gold(I) NHC complexes and aqueous nanoparticles without the need for additional reagents, enabling otherwise difficult functional groups to be appended to the carbene. The resilience of the NHC?Au bond allows for multi‐step post‐synthetic modification. Beginning with the nitro‐NHC, we form an amine‐NHC terminated surface, which further undergoes amide coupling with carboxylic acids. The simplicity of this approach, its compatibility with aqueous nanoparticle solutions, and its ability to yield protic functionality, greatly expands the potential of NHC‐functionalized noble metal surfaces.     

Selective Activation of Fluoroalkenes with N‐Heterocyclic Carbenes: Synthesis of N‐Heterocyclic Fluoroalkenes and Polyfluoroalkenyl Imidazolium Salts

Selective reactions between nucleophilic N,N′‐diaryl‐heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) and electrophilic fluorinated alkenes afford NHC fluoroalkenes in high yields. These stable compounds undergo efficient and selective fluoride abstraction with Lewis acids to give polyfluoroalkenyl imidazolium salts. These salts react at Cβ with pyrrolidine to give ammonium fluoride‐substituted salts, which give rise to conjugated imidazolium‐enamine salts through loss of HF. Alternatively, reaction with 4‐(dimethylamino)‐pyridine provides a Cα‐pyridinium‐substituted NHC fluoroalkene. These compounds were studied using multinuclear NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and X‐ray crystallography. Insight into their electronic structure and reactivity was gained through the use of DFT calculations.     

Cu–N‐heterocyclic carbene‐catalysed synthesis of 2‐aryl‐3‐(arylethynyl)quinoxalines from one‐pot tandem coupling of o‐phenylenediamines and terminal alkynes

A series of new benzimidazolium chlorides bearing N,N′‐benzyl, 2,4,6‐trimethylbenzyl and 2,4,6‐triisopropylbenzyl substituents have been designed and synthesized from various o‐phenylenediamines. Subsequently, corresponding Cu‐based N‐heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) were generated in situ in the reaction medium which represents a new application of NHCs exploiting distinct catalytic property towards intermolecular cyclization reaction cascade for the synthesis of 2‐aryl‐3‐(arylethynyl)quinoxalines from o‐phenylenediamines and terminal alkynes. The outcome of the cyclization reaction product depends upon the N,N′‐substituents present on the benzimidazolium chlorides.     

Chiral carbene approach to gold-catalyzed asymmetric cyclization of 1,6-enynes

Chiral C₂-symmetric N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) were tested for their stereocontrolling abilities in gold(I)-catalyzed asymmetric cyclization of 1,6-enynes giving the corresponding cyclopentane derivatives with moderate enantioselectivity of up to 59%.     

Gold Carbene or Carbenoid: Is There a Difference?

By reviewing the recent progress on the elucidation of the structure of gold carbenes and the definitions of metal carbenes and carbenoids, we recommend to use the term gold carbene to describe gold carbene‐like intermediates, regardless of whether the carbene or carbocation extreme resonance dominates. Gold carbenes, because of the weak metal‐to‐carbene π‐back‐donation and their strongly electrophilic reactivity, could be classified into the broader family of Fischer carbenes, although their behavior and properties are very specific.     

The influence of electronic modifications on rotational barriers of bis‐NHC‐complexes as observed by dynamic NMR spectroscopy

There has been much debate about the σ‐donor and π‐acceptor properties of N‐heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs). While a lot of synthetic modifications have been performed with the goal of optimizing properties of the catalyst to tune reactivity in various transformations (e.g. metathesis), direct methods to characterize σ‐donor and π‐acceptor properties are still few. We believe that dynamic NMR spectroscopy can improve understanding of this aspect. Thus, we investigated the intramolecular dynamics of metathesis precatalysts bearing two NHCs. We chose four systems with one identical NHC ligand (N,N′‐Bis(2,4,6‐trimethylphenyl)‐imidazolinylidene (SIMes) in all four cases) and NHC_ewg ligands bearing four different electron‐withdrawing groups (ewg). Both rotational barriers of the respective Ru‐NHC‐bonds change significantly when the electron density of one of the NHCs (NHC_ewg) is modified. Although it is certainly not possible to fully dissect σ‐donor and π‐acceptor portions of the bonding situations in the respective Ru‐NHC‐bond via dynamic NMR spectroscopy, our studies nevertheless show that the analysis of the rotation around the Ru‐SIMes‐bond can be used as a spectroscopic parameter complementary to cyclic voltammetry. Surprisingly, we observed that the rotation around the Ru‐NHC_ewg‐bond shows the same trend as the initiation rate of a ring‐closing metathesis of the four investigated bis‐NHC‐complexes. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Direct Observation of Aryl Gold(I) Carbenes that Undergo Cyclopropanation,C−H Insertion,and Dimerization Reactions

Mesityl gold(I) carbenes lacking heteroatom stabilization or shielding ancillary ligands have been generated and spectroscopically characterized from chloro(mesityl)methylgold(I) carbenoids bearing JohnPhos‐type ligands by chloride abstraction with GaCl₃. The aryl carbenes react with PPh₃ and alkenes to give stable phosphonium ylides and cyclopropanes, respectively. Oxidation with pyridine N‐oxide and intermolecular C?H insertion to cyclohexane have also been observed. In the absence of nucleophiles, a bimolecular reaction, similar to that observed for other metal carbenes, leads to a symmetrical alkene.     

Stable Cyclic Carbenes and Related Species beyond Diaminocarbenes

The success of homogeneous catalysis can be attributed largely to the development of a diverse range of ligand frameworks that have been used to tune the behavior of various systems. Spectacular results in this area have been achieved using cyclic diaminocarbenes (NHCs) as a result of their strong σ‐donor properties. Although it is possible to cursorily tune the structure of NHCs, any diversity is still far from matching their phosphorus‐based counterparts, which is one of the great strengths of the latter. A variety of stable acyclic carbenes are known, but they are either reluctant to bind metals or they give rise to fragile metal complexes. During the last five years, new types of stable cyclic carbenes, as well as related carbon‐based ligands (which are not NHCs), and which feature even stronger σ‐donor properties have been developed. Their synthesis and characterization as well as the stability, electronic properties, coordination behavior, and catalytic activity of the ensuing complexes are discussed, and comparisons with their NHC cousins are made.     

Gold‐Catalyzed 1,2‐Oxoarylations of Nitriles with Pyridine‐Derived Oxides

We report the first success in the gold‐catalyzed oxoarylations of nitriles with pyridine‐derived N‐oxides using gold carbenes as initiators. These oxoarylations were also achieved satisfactorily in intermolecular three‐component oxidations, including diverse alkenyldiazo esters, nitriles, and pyridine‐based oxides.     

Thermochemistry of N‐heterocyclic carbenes with 5‐, 4‐, 3‐, and 2‐membered rings

N‐heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) based on imidazole‐2‐ylidene ( 1 ) or the saturated imidazolidine‐2‐ylidene ( 2 ) scaffolds are long‐lived singlet carbenes. Both benefit from inductive stabilization of the sigma lone pair on carbon by neighboring N atoms and delocalization of the N pi lone pairs into the nominally vacant p‐pi atomic orbital at the carbene carbon. With thermochemical schemes G4 and CBS‐QB3, we estimate the relative thermodynamic stabilization of smaller ring carbenes and acyclic species which may share the keys to NHC stability. These include four‐membered ring systems incorporating the carbene center, two trivalent N centers, and either a boron or a phosphorus atom to complete the ring. Amino‐substituted cyclopropenylidenes have been reported but three‐membered rings containing the carbene center and two N atoms are not known. Our calculations suggest that amino‐substituted cyclopropenylidenes are comparable in stability to the four‐membered NHCs but that diazacyclopropanylidenes would be substantially less effectively stabilized. Concluding the series are acyclic carbenes with and without neighboring N atoms and a series of “two‐membered ring” azapropadienenylidene cations of form :C?N?W with W = an electron‐withdrawing agent. We have studied W = NO₂, CH₂(+), CF₂(+), and (CN)₂C(+). Although these systems display a degree of stabilization and carbene‐like electronic structure, the stability of the NHCs is unsurpassed. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.