Researchers have successfully created in the laboratory a class of carbenes used to make catalysts. Until now, chemists believed these carbenes, called "abnormal N-heterocyclic carbenes" or aNHCs, were impossible to make. The aNHCs are stable at room temperature both in the solid state and in solution, which means their application as metal-free catalysts is extremely wide, greatly benefiting industry by making possible scores of new chemical reactions.
Source: ScienceDaily