Tandem ammonia borane dehydrogenation/alkene hydrogenation mediated by [Pd(NHC)(PR3)] (NHC = N-heterocyclic carbene) catalysts

[Pd(NHC)(PR₃)] complexes were shown to be active catalysts in the dehydrogenation of ammonia borane and the subsequent hydrogenation of unsaturated compounds at very low catalyst loadings (0.05 mol% for some substrates).