an imidazolium ring, is not in equilibrium with its putative free N-(fluoren-9-yl)imidazol-2-ylidene tautomer, its reaction with a metallic centre induces its interconversion to yield the corresponding monoligated N-heterocyclic carbene complex (Au(I) and Rh(I)). Deprotonation of 2 and coordination to the RhI(COD) fragment allows the isolation of complex 7 displaying a rarely observed four-membered NHC-containing