Queen's Partnerships and Innovation is pleased to report the issuance of U.S. Patent No. 11,840,766 entitled, "Etching Metal Using N-Heterocyclic Carbenes," on December 12, 2023 to Brian Miriampillai, Abrar Alrashed, Cathleen Crudden, J. Hugh Horton, Christopher Baddeley, and Christian Larrea. The patent relates to using an N-heterocyclic carbene and optionally an appropriate solvent to effectively etch a metallic surface.