text: N-Heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) are particularly common carbene ligands. They are popular because they are more readily prepared than Schrock and Fischer carbenes. In fact, many NHCs are isolated as the free ligand, since they are persistent carbenes. Being strongly stabilized by π-donating substituents, NHCs are powerful σ-donors but π-bonding with the metal is weak. For this reason, the bond between the carbon and the metal center is often represented by a single dative bond, whereas Fischer and Schrock carbenes are usually depicted with double bonds to metal. Continuing with this analogy, NHCs are often compared with trialkylphosphine ligands. Like phosphines, NHCs serve as spectator ligands that influence catalysis through a combination of electronic and steric effects, but they do not directly bind substrates.