| Summary: | <i>N</i>-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) are widely used in organometallic chemistry. Here, we examine the role of NHCs in the stabilisation of aluminium hydrides, AlH<sub>3</sub>, also known as alanes. This includes an assessment of the various synthetic strategies, comparisons of structural parameters and theoretical insight. Based on percent buried volume (%<i>V</i><sub>bur</sub>) parameters, we report the largest and smallest NHC alanes to date, with noted differences in their observed stability in both the solution and solid state.
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