title: Beyond catalysis: N-heterocyclic carbene complexes as components for medicinal, luminescent, and functional materials applications.
abstract: This tutorial review compiles the advances that have been achieved in using transition metal complexes containing N-heterocyclic carbene ligands as components for materials. Applications of metal carbene complexes in fields different from catalysis are remarkably scarce. During the last few years, promising results have been accomplished in particular by utilizing such complexes as antimicrobial and cytotoxic agents, as photoactive sites in luminescent materials, for self-assembly into liquid crystalline materials and metallosupramolecular structures, and as synthons for molecular switches and conducting polymeric materials. These initial achievements clearly underline the great potential of N-heterocyclic carbene complexes in various fields of materials science.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Fribourg, Chemin du Musée 9, CH-1700 Fribourg, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Laszlo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mercs
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Albrecht
mesh_terms: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000737:chemistry; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000737:chemistry; D002384:Catalysis; D056831:Coordination Complexes / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry; D006571:Heterocyclic Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D008697:Methane / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000737:chemistry; D009942:Organometallic Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry; D012428:Ruthenium / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D056831:Coordination Complexes; D006571:Heterocyclic Compounds; D009942:Organometallic Compounds; D011108:Polymers; C030011:carbene; D012428:Ruthenium; D008697:Methane