In this Concept article we provide a brief overview of the design and preparation of N-heterocyclic carbenes carrying weakly coordinating anions (WCA-NHCs). The anionic charge in these ligand systems is located on an exocyclic group, for example, B(C6 F5 )3 , tethered to the backbone of the imidazole ring, thus resembling a weakly coordinating moiety. With the general guiding principle behind the application of WCA-NHCs being the conversion of otherwise cationic NHC complexes into their overall neutral congeners, numerous transition metal as well as main group element complexes were isolated during the last decade, which are summarized herein.
Keywords: N-heterocyclic carbene; catalysis; main group element chemistry; transition metal chemistry; weakly coordinating anions.
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