title: N-Heterocyclic carbene metal complexes: photoluminescence and applications.
abstract: This review covers the advances made in the synthesis of luminescent transition metal complexes containing N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligands. The presence of a high field strength ligand such as an NHC in the complexes gives rise to high energy emissions, and consequently, to the desired blue colour needed for OLED applications. Furthermore, the great versatility of NHC ligands for structural modifications, together with the use of other ancillary ligands in the complex, provides numerous possibilities for the synthesis of phosphorescent materials, with emission colours over the entire visible spectra and potential future applications in fields such as photochemical water-splitting, chemosensors, dye-sensitised solar cells, oxygen sensors, and medicine.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Química Inorgánica, Instituto de Síntesis Química y Catálisis Homogénea (ISQCH), CSIC-Universidad de Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain. gimeno@unizar.es.
authors.forename: Renso
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Visbal
authors.forename: M Concepción
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Gimeno
mesh_terms: D002384:Catalysis; D056831:Coordination Complexes; D049449:Luminescence; D008697:Methane / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D010777:Photochemistry / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends
chemical_list: D056831:Coordination Complexes; C030011:carbene; D008697:Methane