Synthesis and Characterization of Axially Chiral Imidazoisoquinolin-2-ylidene Silver and Gold Complexes

The selective Suzuki cross-coupling of 1,3-dichloroisoquinoline with 2-substituted 1-naphthylboronic acids/esters followed by construction of the imidazo[1,5-b]isoquinoline ring and alkylation constitutes a straightforward route to imidazolium salts fused into an axially chiral biaryl skeleton. Metalation of these azolium salts afforded the corresponding NHC silver complexes, which were used as carbene transfer agents for the synthesis of Au(I) derivatives.