Thesis advisor: James P. Morken / This dissertation details the development, application and study of new palladium-catalyzed carbon-carbon bond forming strategies that generate synthetically useful enantioenriched small molecules. Controlled by a bidentate phosphine ligand, these transformations are thought to operate through a unique 3,3'-reductive elimination that leads to high regio- and stereoselectivity. Specifically, Chapter 1 introduces background on prior work that led to the first allyl-allyl coupling to deliver branched 1,5-dienes, and presents new computational studies on the origins of regioselectivity with mono- and bidentate ligands. Building on these studies, Chapter 2 describes the development of a diastereoselective allyl-allyl coupling of substituted allylboron reagents with allylic chloride electrophiles. To extend the scope of allyl-allyl coupling, Chapter 3 details further reaction optimization and mechanistic studies that have allowed for increasingly congested bond formations. In Chapter 4, a related allyl-propargyl coupling to give enantioenriched 1,5-enynes through stereospecific reactions and kinetic resolution is presented. These developments are accompanied by laboratory and computational data that provide a deeper understanding of reaction mechanisms and the origins of regio- and stereoselectivity. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2014. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Chemistry.

Thesis advisor: James P. Morken / The catalytic allylation of aldehydes, ketones, and imines is a very useful reaction for the formation of a new carbon-carbon bond in synthetic organic chemistry. There have been several successful reports of catalytic asymmetric reactions that use aldehydes as the substrate. However, there have been very few successful examples with ketones. Herein, a nickel-catalyzed allylation of dienones with the pinacol ester of allylboronic acid is presented. Based on 3,3’-reductive elimination, the relationship between the dienone structure and 1,2- and 1,6-regioselectvity has been studied. The development of a catalyzed asymmetric 1,2 allylation of dienones is also presented. / Thesis (MS) — Boston College, 2008. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Chemistry.