Author: Christine Le

Publisher:

Published: 2017

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13:

Atom-economical addition reactions to unsaturated carbonâ carbon bonds represent a powerful class of transformations in organic chemistry, since a great deal of molecular complexity can be generated from simple starting materials. Highly regio- and stereoselective processes have been made possible through the use of transition metal catalysts, alongside specialized ancillary ligands and in combination with rational substrate design. One area of research in the Lautens group involves the transition metal catalyzed asymmetric ring opening (ARO) of strained alkenes, which provides access to enantioenriched carbocyclic frameworks. Although a variety of coupling partners have been applied in this transformation, the use of soft carbon nucleophiles remains limited in scope. The first chapter describes a rhodium(I)-catalyzed ARO of meso-oxabicyclic alkenes using silyl enol ethers and ketene acetals. In analogy to the Mukaiyama aldol reaction, a novel silyl migration occurs, enabling an in situ protection of the chiral alcohols obtained. Developing new reactivity from Heck-type carbopalladation processes represents another research interest in the Lautens group. Oxidative addition into a carbonâ halogen bond constitutes the first step of nearly all palladium(0)-catalyzed cross-couplings. Conversely, reductive elimination from palladium(II) to yield an organohalide product represents a rare and often thermodynamically unfavoured process. The next two chapters address challenges in the synthesis of vinyl halides using palladium(0) catalysis via the intramolecular carbohalogenation and chlorocarbamoylation of alkynes. During our investigations, we discovered that the steric bulk of both the substrate and the phosphine ligand play an important role in promoting the desired reactivity. Mechanistic insight has been gained through combined experimental and computational studies, which implicate a palladium-catalyzed stereoisomerization in both of these transformations. Under certain conditions, we demonstrate that highly stereoselective trans-additions to alkynes can be achieved, which illustrates that specific substrate/catalyst combinations can override the inherent cis-selectivity in carbometallations. In the fourth chapter, a formal palladium(II)-catalyzed alkyne chlorocarbamoylation reaction is presented, which provides access to medicinally relevant methylene oxindole scaffolds. In contrast to the analogous protocol using palladium(0) catalysts, the reaction is initiated by an alkyne chloropalladation step, followed by intramolecular cross-coupling with a carbamoyl chloride. Experimental and computational studies provide insight into the mechanism of this reaction.