Strong bond activation mediated by pincer ligated transiton-metal complexes has been the subject of intense study in recent years, due to its potential involvement in catalytic transformations. This dissertation has focused on the net heterolytic cleavage of B-H and B-B bonds across the N-Pd bond in a cationic (PNP)Pd fragment, the C-H oxidative addition to a (PNP)Ir center and the recent results on the C-H and C-O oxidative addition in reactions of aryl carboxylates with the (PNP)Rh fragment. Transition metal carbene and carbyne complexes are of great interest because of their role in a wide variety of catalytic reactions. Our work has resulted in the isolation of a rhodium(I) difluorocarbene. Reaction of the rhodium difluorocarbene complex with a silylium salt led to the C-F bond cleavage and the formation of a terminal fluorocarbyne complex. Reductive elimination is a critical step of cross coupling reactions. In order to examine the effect of the pincer ligand on the reductive elimination reactions from Rh(III), the first pi-accepting PNP ligand bearing pyrrolyl substituents was prepared and installed onto the rhodium center. Arylhalide (halide = Br, I) oxidative addition was achieved in the presence of donor ligands such as acetonitrile to form stable six-coordinate Rh(III) compounds. The C-O reductive elimination reactions in this system were also explored.

Chapter 2 of the thesis describes a highly efficient in situ method for the reduction of amides to aldehydes and aryl O-carbamates to phenols and other transformations involving hydrozirconations. The method, as a three-component-type reaction, involves in situ generation of the Schwartz reagent (Cp2Zr(H)Cl) from Cp2ZrCl2 and the reductant, LiAlH(O-t-Bu)3, and immediate reaction with a substrate. Substrates include aliphatic and aromatic tertiary amides which are reduced to aldehydes, aryl O-carbamates which are reduced to phenols, and alkynes which undergo other transformations via hydrozirconation. Compared to prior methods, this method has advantage in that reagents are inexpensive and stable, reaction times are short, and reaction temperatures are generally conveniently at room temperature. The use of the in situ method described herein instead of the requirement for the synthesis of the commercially available Schwartz reagent is estimated to provide more than 50% reduction in cost. Chapter 3 of the thesis describes the discovery and development of efficient and regioselective Ru-catalyzed amide-directed C-H, C-N, C-O activation/C-C bond forming reactions, ester-directed C-O activation/C-C bond forming reaction, and amide-directed C-O activation/hydrodemethoxylation reactions under a simple RuH2(CO)(PPh3)3/toluene catalytic system. Of these, the amide-directed C-H activation/cross coupling reaction proceeds well but uniquely on furan 3-amide substrates while the ester-directed C-O activation is effective on the 2-MeO-1-naphthoic acid methyl ester. On the other hand, the amide-directed C-N and C-O activation/coupling reactions are broadly applicable on benzamides and naphthamides. All of these achievements of directed C-H, C-N, C-O activation/coupling reactions complement and may supercede the DoM (directed ortho metalation)-cross coupling strategy, and establish the catalytic base-free DoM-cross coupling process at non-cryogenic temperature as a convenient, economical and green alternative. The new catalytic amide-directed ortho-hydrodemethoxylation reaction has potential value in links to aromatic electrophilic substitution and DoM chemistries. Furthermore, a new borylation reaction via Ru-catalyzed amide-directed C-H activation/C-B bond forming process is also reported herein. / Thesis (Ph.D, Chemistry) -- Queen's University, 2010-12-21 11:12:35.564

Transition metal-catalyzed cross-coupling is one of the most dominant fields of modern synthetic organic chemistry. Research is forever ongoing, in which there is constant expansion of the scope of nucleophilic- and electrophilic- coupling partners, and consequently the types of products that can be formed. More specifically, strong bond activation in cross-coupling is an emerging field that can enable late-stage functionalization; by activating inert functional groups that were untouched in earlier synthetic steps, they can be taken advantage of for further derivatization. This thesis will focus on the use of aggressive reagents in the activation of strong C–H and C–O bonds for their use in transition metal-catalyzed cross-coupling. Chapter 1 will involve the use of organometallic superbases in the palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling of sp3-hybridized carbon-centered nucleophiles. Deprotonation and subsequent electrophilic quench can be considered the most classical form of C–H activation. While modern approaches frequently focus on radical mechanisms or directing groups as modes of C–H activation, stoichiometric metalation has been largely overlooked in the context of cross-coupling. By using aggressive organometallic superbases to deprotonate very weakly acidic C–H bonds, the resultant organometallic species can be taken advantage of as cross-coupling nucleophiles. This chapter will investigate the coupling of organolithiums and organozincs generated in situ in the C(sp3)–H arylation of an array of unactivated substrate classes. Chapter 2 will briefly investigate the use of aggressive alkyl metallic additives in the C–O activation of silyl enol ethers as Suzuki-Corriu cross-coupling electrophiles. Converting ketones to substituted olefins using cross-coupling is a common approach in medicinal chemistry for the synthesis of complex bioactive products. While reliable, this chemistry is generally very inefficient due to multi-step synthesis and the instability of activated intermediates. In contrast, applying modern nickel-catalyzed C–O activation to robust silyl enol ethers made in situ could alleviate these limitations. Using triethylborane as an additive, a nickel-catalyzed Suzuki-Corriu cross-coupling of silyl enol ethers was discovered. While ultimately unsuccessful, attempts were also made to optimize, explore the scope, and elucidate the mechanism of this reaction.

La mise au point de nouvelles méthodes de synthèse flexibles, robustes et polyvalentes pour la formation régiosélective de liaisons carbone-carbone ou carbone-hétéroatome représente un défi perpétuel en chimie organique. Dans le cadre de nos travaux, nous avons développé des protocoles efficaces et faciles à mettre en œuvre portant sur l’activation de liaisons C-O catalysée par le nickel et la sulfénylation de liaisons C-H sans métal. Nous avons démontré que l’utilisation d’un système catalytique simple à base d’acétate de nickel(II) et d’oxyde de triphénylphosphine dans des conditions douces (40 °C) permettait de réaliser le couplage croisé entre un éther d’énol méthylique et un réactif de Grignard via l’insertion du Ni dans la liaison C OMe. Une réaction de sulfénylation électrophile de composés (hétéro)aromatiques a également été développée. L’emploi de N-thiosuccinimides comme partenaires soufrés, en présence d’acide trifluoroacétique, nous a permis de réaliser avec une très bonne régiosélectivité la sulfénylation d’aromatiques électro-enrichis. Cette méthode a également été appliquée à des indoles non protégés afin d’accéder à des 2-thioindoles fonctionnalisés. / The development of new flexible synthetic methods for the regioselective formation of carbon carbon or carbon-heteroatom represents an ongoing challenge in organic chemistry. The work presented in this manuscript concerns the development of efficient and easy to implement protocols on nickel-catalyzed C-O bond activation and metal-free C-H sulfenylation.It was demonstrated that the use of a single catalytic system based on nickel(II) acetate and triphenylphosphine oxide under mild conditions (40 ° C) could perform the cross-coupling between an alkenyl methyl ether and a Grignard reagent via the insertion of the Ni catalyst into the C-OMe bond. An electrophilic sulfenylation reaction of (hetero)aromatics has also been developed. The use of N thiosuccinimides as sulfenylating partners, in the presence of trifluoroacetic acid, allowed us to achieve with a very good regioselectivity the sulfenylation of electron-rich aromatics. This method was also applied to unprotected indoles in order to access functionalized 2 thioindoles.