Since the discovery of the stable N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) in the early 1990s, research on this important class of compounds has boomed. Their structural versatility and functionalisation enables them to display an array of exploitable and tunable properties. Their strong coordination to metal centres, especially to late transition metals, makes NHCs not only suitable as organocatalysts, but also as organometallic catalysts. This has had far-reaching implications for the entire chemistry community.
Although the role of the NHCs in organometallic chemistry is now well established, these compounds continue to inspire researchers to delve further into their vast chemistry. As a leading society journal for Inorganic Chemistry, EurJIC aims to serve the needs of its broad-based inorganic chemistry audience. With this in mind, the idea to present a cluster of papers in one issue, which focuses on the exciting developments in this topical field but covers the broadest variety of aspects as possible, was born. Together with Guest Editor Steven Nolan, it is our pleasure to offer you this Cluster Issue, which captures some of the many notable advances in NHC chemistry by many of the key players in the field.