The Dong research group is interested in harnessing the power of transition metal catalysis to transform simple molecules and reagents (such as carbon monoxide, hydrogen gas, olefins, and C–H and C–O bonds) into valuable products (such as functionalized heterocycles, chiral carbonyl compounds and natural products). This thesis will describe our continual effort to achieve this goal. Part I describes the Pd-catalyzed functionalization of sp2 and sp3 C–H bonds. Carbon monoxide is used as a stoichiometric reductant in the cyclization of diarylnitroalkenes to afford biologically relevant 3-arylindoles and other N-containing heterocycles with carbon dioxide as the only stoichiometric byproduct. Also, an aryl sulfoxide moiety is shown to direct the arylation of sp3 C–H bonds to afford beta-functionalized amides. Part II describes the Ru-catalyzed sp3 C–O bond activation of alkoxypyridines and related heterocycles. In this transformation, an O- to N-alkyl migratory rearrangement occurs to afford N-alkylated pyridones which are structures found in many natural products and pharmaceutical agents. Part III describes our pursuit of metal-catalyzed asymmetric synthesis. Readily available benzylic bromides are carbonylated with carbon monoxide in alcoholic solvent mixtures. The resulting medicinally relevant 2-arylpropionic esters are obtained with moderate to good enantioselectivities. Preliminary results for the asymmetric hydrogenation of gem-diarylethylenes and novel ligand development are also disclosed. Part IV describes our efforts towards the total synthesis of 6-deoxyerythronolide B. Our retrosynthetic analysis of the macrolide antibiotic involves disconnections at the lactone linkage and between C7 and C8. The two equally complex fragments were prepared via reliable aldol, hydroboration, crotylation and redox chemistry. Rather than the typical macrolactonization method to form the 14-membered ring, we propose an alternative strategy where we plan to cyclize with a metal-catalyzed ring-closing metathesis event. Currently, this step is under investigation by other members in the group.

The selective transformation of carbon-carbon and carbon-hydrogen bonds represents an attractive approach and rapidly developing frontier in synthesis. Benefits include step and atom economy, as well as the ubiquitous presence in organic molecules. Advances to this exciting realm of synthesis are described in this thesis with an emphasis on the development of catalytic, selective reactions under mild conditions. Additionally some applications of the methodologies are demonstrated. In Chapter 1, the first examples of inter-and intramolecular enantioselective conjugate alkenylations employing organostannanes are reported. A chiral, cationic Rh(I)-diene complex catalyzed the enantioselective conjugate addition of alkenylstannanes to benzylidene Meldrum’s acids in moderate enantiomeric ratios and yields. Notably, the cationic and anhydrous conditions required for the asymmetric alkenylation are complementary to existing protocols employing other alkenylmetals. In Chapter 2, a domino, one-pot formation of tetracyclic ketones from benzylidene Meldrum’s acids using Sc(OTf)3 via a [1,5]-hydride shift/cyclization/Friedel-Crafts acylation sequence is described. Respectable yields were obtained in accord with the ability to convert to the spiro-intermediate, and considering the formation of three new bonds: one C-H and two C-C bonds. An intriguing carbon-carbon bond cleavage was also serendipitously discovered as part of a competing reaction pathway. In Chapter 3, the pursuit of novel C-H bond transformations led to the development of non-carbonyl-stabilized rhodium carbenoid Csp3-H insertions. This methodology enabled the rapid synthesis of N-fused indolines and related complex heterocycles from N-aziridinylimines. By using a rhodium carboxamidate catalyst, competing processes were minimized and C-H insertions were found to proceed in moderate to high yields. Also disclosed is an expedient total synthesis of (±)-cryptaustoline, a dibenzopyrrocoline alkaloid, which highlights the methodology. In Chapter 4, the Lewis acid promoted substitution of Meldrum’s acid discovered during the course of the domino reaction was explored in detail. The protocol transforms unstrained quaternary and tertiary benzylic Csp3-Csp3 bonds into Csp3-X bonds (X = C, N, H) and has even shown to be advantageous with regards to synthetic utility over the use of alternative leaving groups for substitutions at quaternary benzylic centers. This reaction has a broad scope both in terms of suitable substrates and nucleophiles with good to excellent yields obtained (typically >90%).

In recent times, composite materials have gained mainstay acceptance as a structural material of choice due to their tailorability and improved thermal, specific strength/stiffness and durability performance. Carbon-Carbon (C/C) composites are used for high temperature applications such as exit nozzles for rockets, leading edges for missiles, nose cones, brake pads etc. Mechanical property estimation of C/C composites is challenging due to their highly heterogeneous microstructure. Computed Tomography (CT) images (volumetric imaging) coupled with Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) reveal a highly heterogeneous microstructure comprised of woven C-fibers, amorphous C-matrix, irregularly shaped voids, cracks and other inclusions. The images also disclose structural hierarchy of the C/C composite at different length scales. Predicting the mechanical behavior of such complex hierarchical materials like C/C composites forms the motivation for the present work. A systematic study to predict the effective mechanical properties of C/C Composite using numerical homogenization has been undertaken in this work. The Micro-Meso-Macro (MMM) principle of ensemble averages for estimating the effective properties of the composite has been adopted. The hierarchical length scales in C/C composites has been identified as micro (single fiber with matrix), meso (fabric) and macro (laminate). Numerical homogenization along with periodic boundary conditions (PBCs) have been used to estimate the effective engineering properties of the material at different length scales. Concurrently, mechanical testing has also been carried out at macro (compression tests) and micro scale (using nano-indentation studies) to characterize the mechanical behavior of C/C composites.

A problem with having a fast and wide production of different platforms for mobile devices is that you can’t code for one and deploy on all devices at the same time. This thesis is focused on cross-plat1form development environments for smartphones and mainly to see what options there are on the market. This report will investigate how well a cross-compiler solution compares to hybrid cross-platform development. To do this we took a closer look at their architecture and then compared this with the results from different tests made. All the tests were made on the same smartphone to ensure fairness between them. All the tests strive to be as equal as possible even though the languages might differ from each other. The tested frameworks were PhoneGap, Qt, Unity3D and GameMaker. The different tests were about performance, power consumption, difficulty in accessing web browsers to perform HTML parsing and lastly to see if the platforms can access different native APIs such as the camera and accelerometer. The previously mentioned topics were compared between all the frameworks. We also compared the documentation found on their webpage to figure out which is the easiest to get started on.

This work focuses on the theory of artificial neural networks: the history, individual ways of learning and architecture of networks. It is also necessary to desribe the image processing blocks from scanning and image processing through segmentation to object recognition. The next part is focused on connecting the previous two parts, and therefore on the use of neural networks in image processing, specifically the identification of objects. In the practical part of the work is designed the user application for recognizing characters such as numbers, uppercase and lowercase letters.

This master's thesis deals with the development of web portal for the application of fault-tolerant methodologies. It introduces the issue of fault-tolerant systems and analyze system requirements, that have users working in this field. It describes the development cycle from analysis and specification of application system design through to implementation and testing part. More thoroughly it is focusing above design portal that provides a comprehensive and versatile solution to the problem that leads to the final implementation of this portal. This realization is part of the thesis.

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No / A transition-metal-free efficient method for the preparation of 1,2,3-trisubstituted benzenes from bispropargyl alcohols and 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds has been developed. The reaction of bispropargyl alcohol with 1,3-dicarbonyl compound proceeds through [3,3]-rearrangement, 6π-electrocyclization, and unexpected Csp3−Csp2 regioselective σ-bond cleavage processes.

Das dreistufige Flüssigsilicierverfahren (LSI) stellt eine Methode dar, siliciumcarbidbasierte faserverstärkte Keramiken herzustellen. Ausgangspunkt ist ein faserverstärkter Kunststoff, der über Pyrolyse (Konvertierung des Matrixpolymers in Kohlenstoff) und Silicierung (Siliciuminfiltration und Reaktion zu Siliciumcarbid) keramisiert wird. In der vorliegenden Arbeit werden die Matrix mittels der verwendeten Matrixpolymere (Matrixdesign) und das Faser/Matrix-Interface durch das Aufbringen von Faserbeschichtungen (Interfacedesign) definiert gestaltet. Die in der Arbeit eingesetzten Matrixpolymere beeinflussen durch eine unterschiedliche Poren- und Rissbildung in der Kohlenstoffmatrix die Siliciuminfiltration und die damit verbundene Siliciumcarbidbildung. Die Matrixpolymere erzeugen einerseits eine C-SiC-Dualphasenmatrix, wie diese bei den C/C-SiC-Verbunden angestrebt wird. Andererseits kann eine weitestgehend einphasige SiC-Matrix eingestellt werden, welche für die Herstellung von SiC/SiC-Verbunden interessant ist. Bei diesen Verbundwerkstoffen ist eine zusätzliche Faserbeschichtung entscheidend, um die Faser/Matrix-Bindung zu reduzieren und die Fasern vor dem Siliciumangriff während der Herstellung zu schützen. Als Faserbeschichtung werden eine BNx-Schicht und eine SiNx-Schicht entwickelt, die in einer BNx/SiNx-Doppelschicht kombiniert werden. Die Schichtherstellung erfolgt mittels chemischer Gasphasenabscheidung (CVD) auf einem kommerziellen SiC-Fasergarn (Tyranno SA3). Die amorphe BNx-Schicht ist innerhalb des Fasergarnes sehr homogen. Dahingegen besitzt die amorphe SiNx-Schicht einen Gradient in der Schichtdicke sowie in der chemischen Zusammensetzung. Bei der thermischen Auslagerung bleibt die BNx-Schicht stabil. Die SiNx-Schicht kristallisiert und es bilden sich Poren und Siliciumausscheidungen innerhalb der Schicht. Zudem entstehen teilweise Risse und Schichtabplatzungen. Weitere alternative Schichtkonzepte werden vorgeschlagen. / The liquid silicon infiltration (LSI) process is used to produce silicon carbide (SiC) based fiber reinforced ceramics and consists of three stages. Starting point is a fiber reinforced plastic, which is ceramized by means of pyrolysis (conversion of the matrix polymer to carbon) and siliconization (silicon infiltration and reaction to form silicon carbide). In the present work, the matrix and the fiber/matrix interface are designed by utilizing special matrix polymers and fiber coatings, respectively. The used matrix polymers lead to different pore and crack formation in the carbon matrix affecting the liquid silicon infiltration and the silicon carbide formation. The polymers not only create a dual phase C-SiC matrix, which is aspired for the production of C/C-SiC composites, but also form a single phase SiC matrix favorable for the SiC/SiC composite production. An additional coating of the fibers for these composite materials is crucial to reduce the fiber/matrix bonding and to protect the fibers from corrosive silicon attack. Separate BNx and SiNx single coatings are developed, which are combined to a double coating. The coating process is realized by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on a commercial SiC fiber yarn (Tyranno SA3). The amorphous BNx coating is very uniform within the yarn, whereas the amorphous SiNx coating is characterized by a gradient regarding the layer thickness as well as the chemical composition. During the high temperature heat treatment the BNx coating remains stable. The SiNx coating crystallizes and pores as well as silicon precipitations are formed. Moreover, the coating partially ruptures. In this work, some additional alternative coating concepts are also proposed.