Carbohydrate-based N-heterocyclic carbene-metal complexes: a new avenue for sustainable catalysts in organic transformations

Abstract

N-Heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) and their metal complexes have been employed as catalysts in organic transformations owing to their high efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and extraordinary performance. Carbohydrates are inexpensive, nontoxic biomolecules that act as chiral building blocks and have high water solubility. In the past few years, significant interest has been shown towards the development of carbohydrate-based NHC ligands and their metal complexes from the viewpoint of sustainable chemistry. The combined properties of carbohydrates and NHCs enhance catalytic performance, solubility, chemoselectivity, and reusability. This review intends to highlight both the importance of synthetic methods of carbohydrate-based N-heterocyclic carbene-metal complexes (CNHC-M) and their applications in organic transformation.