Fundamentals and applications of N-heterocyclic carbene functionalized gold surfaces and nanoparticles

The discovery of N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) revolutionized organometallic chemistry due to their strong metal-ligand bonds. These strong bonds also lend enhanced stability to gold surfaces and nanoparticles. This stability and high degree of synthetic tunability has allowed NHCs to supplant thiols as the ligand of choice when functionalizing gold surfaces. This review article summarizes the basic science and applications of NHCs on gold surfaces and gold nanoparticles. Additionally, scientific questions that are unique to gold-NHC systems are discussed, such as the NHC adatom binding motif and the NHC surface mobility. Finally, new applications for NHCs on gold are covered with particular attention to biomedicine, catalysis, and microelectronics.

N - 杂环卡宾（NHCs）的发现彻底改变了有机金属化学，因为它们具有很强的金属 - 配体键。这些强键也为金表面和纳米粒子提供了更高的稳定性。这种稳定性以及高度的合成可调性使得NHCs在金表面功能化时取代了硫醇成为首选配体。这篇综述文章总结了NHCs在金表面和金纳米粒子上的基础科学及应用。此外，还讨论了金 - NHC体系特有的科学问题，例如NHC吸附原子结合模式和NHC表面迁移率。最后，涵盖了NHCs在金上的新应用，尤其关注生物医学、催化和微电子学。