N-heterocyclic carbene-catalyzed radical reactions

Abstract

While N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) catalyzed electron-pair-transfer processes have been developed into an important tool for synthetically important bond formations during the past decades, the corresponding radical reactions via NHC catalysis have only received growing attention in the past six years. Taking into account the advantages NHC-catalyzed radical reactions might bring, such as creating new activation modes that were previously unobtainable, it is worthwhile to provide a conceptual understanding of this emerging area. Therefore, herein we give an overview of NHC-catalyzed radical reactions via different synthetic techniques.