Carbene complexes made easily: Decomposition of reissert compounds and further synthetic approaches

New methods for the preparation of NHC-metal complexes have been developed. It was shown that a nitrile group in Reissert analogous compounds can act as a good leaving group in thermal elimination, resulting in carbene formation. Moreover potassium carbonate was introduced as a highly efficient and mild reagent for the generation of N-heterocyclic carbene complexes in good to excellent yields, even in water, as the most environmentally friendly medium.