Pierce Pham and Christian Hilty
Chem. Commun., 2020,56, 15466-15469
DOI:
10.1039/D0CC06840C,
Communication
A series of bidentate N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) iridium catalysts, [Ir(κC,N-NHC)H2L2]BPh4, are proposed for SABRE hyperpolarization. The steric and electronic properties of the NHCs are used to tune substrate affinity and thereby SABRE efficiency. The sterically hindered substrates 2,4-diaminopyrimidine and trimethoprim yielded maximum proton NMR signal enhancements of ∼300-fold and ∼150-fold, respectively.