Sulfur-functionalized N-heterocyclic carbenes and their transition metal complexes

Donor group functionalized N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHC) are an important class of ligands used in transition metal complex chemistry. Herein, the growing field of sulfur-functionalized NHC compounds and their respective transition metal complexes are described comprehensively. The sulfur-functionalized NHC compounds are categorized by functional groups such as thiolate, thioether, sulfoxide, thiophene, sulfonate and sulfonamide. Chiral compounds and the hemilabile behaviour of sulfur-functionalized NHC compounds are reported. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.