Thesis advisor: Lawrence T. Scott / The work described herein stems from an effort to develop a method for growing single-chirality carbon nanotubes from small hydrocarbon templates using a Diels-Alder cycloaddition/rearomatization strategy. Current technologies are incapable of producing significant amounts of homogeneous carbon nanotubes; therefore, much research has been put into the development of aromatic templates (belts and bowls), from which one type of nanotube might be grown (Chapter 1). Since no such functional template had yet been synthesized, the work in this dissertation developed reagents and methods for forming new benzene rings on aromatic test systems that would be analogous to the rim of a growing nanotube (Chapters 2 and 4). Theoretical investigations relating to nanotube dimensions (Chapter 3) were undertaken and paired with experimental work that would take into consideration the changing properties of growing tubes (Chapter 5). The test systems used for discovering new reagents for growth also became functional platforms for studies of new reactivity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), such as bay-region oxidation (Chapter 6) and progress toward the synthesis of soluble graphene ribbons (Chapter 7). This PAH work also resulted in the observation of unique solid state properties in the crystal form (Chapter 8) and novel reactivity, generating five-membered rings by Scholl reactions of tethered PAHs (Chapter 9). Additional considerations for future nanotube templates and fullerene precursors also bore scrutiny (Chapter 10). / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2010. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Chemistry.

We report the development of a general route to the synthesis of [4.3.1], [3.3.1], an especially [3.2.1] bicyclic compounds structurally related to vitisinol D, a natural product. This allows for diastereoselective synthesis of bicyclic compounds with five adjacent chiral centers. This route was employed in a preliminary SAR investigation into the neuroprotectant effect of small molecules in an in vivo experiment measuring the degree of restorative effect of synaptic transmission in the neuromuscular junction of Drosophila melanogaster larvae under acute oxidative stress. One of the compounds exhibited intriguing potential as a neuroprotectant and outperformed resveratrol in restoring synaptic function under oxidative stress. The hypothesis that bridged bicyclic compounds may hold promise as drug scaffolds due to their conformational rigidity and ability to orient functional appendages in unique orientations is developed. The second focus is a mechanistic investigation into a tetrabutylammoniumcatalyzed cycloaddition as evidence of a novel ammonium-alkyne interaction. A carbamate nitrogen adds to a non-conjugated carbon–carbon triple bond under the action of an ammonium catalyst leading to a cyclic product. Studies in homogeneous systems suggest that the ammonium agent facilitates cyclitive nitrogen–carbon bond formation through a cation–π interaction with the alkyne unit. Using Raman spectroscopy, this cation–π interaction is directly observed for the first time. DFT modeling elucidated the mechanistic factors in this cycloaddition. A teaching experiment was developed based on this mechanistic investigation. Control experiments were employed to demonstrate the testing of two alternative mechanistic hypotheses. Cyclization reactions were performed with a soluble base (sodium phenoxide) with and without tetrabutylammonium bromide under homogeneous conditions. Students observed that ammonium salt accelerates the reaction. They were encouraged to develop a testable hypothesis for the role of the ammonium salt in the cyclization mechanism: typical phase transfer or other. IR spectroscopy was used to directly observe a dose dependent shift of the alkyne stretching mode due to a cation−π interaction. Undergraduates were able to employ the scientific method on a contemporary system and see how data are generated and interpreted to adjudicate between rival hypotheses in a way that emulates authentic and current research in a lab setting. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2018. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Formation of carbon–fluorine and carbon–fluoroalkyl bonds via transition metal complexes represents an efficient synthetic route towards a wide array of valuable fluorinated organic compounds and fluorinated metallacycles offer a potentially green and atom economical pathway towards these functionalized fluorocarbons. This thesis is focused on cycloaddition reactions of Ni=CF2 complexes with fluoroalkenes (FAs) and acetylenes. Cycloaddition reactions of the FAs vinylidene fluoride (CF2=CH2) and perfluoro(methyl vinyl ether) [CF2=CF(OCF3)] with the electron-rich Ni(0) fluorocarbene, Ni=CF2[P(OMe)3](dppe) affords stable metallacyclobutane complexes, likely through a 1,4-diradical mechanism previously investigated for analogous reactions using computational chemistry. With CF2=CHF (TrFE), however, the observed products are the C3 alkene E-CHF=CF(CF3) and the metallacyclopentane complex, Ni(C4H2F6)(dppe), derived from oxidative coupling of two additional equivalents of TrFE. It is proposed that the instability of the initially formed metallacyclobutane gives rise to a 2,1-F shift, yielding the C3 alkene complex. Reaction of the latter with excess TrFE then liberates the C3 alkene, forming the TrFE alkene complex followed by the observed metallacyclopentane product. In the reaction of 1a with chlorotrifluoroethylene (CF2=CFCl) a single regioisomer of the metallacyclobutane is observed, but reacts further in THF solvent via α-Cl migration to Ni, affording the tetrafluoroallyl complex, NiCl(CF2CF=CFH), in which one F has been replaced by a hydrogen. Finally, reaction of 1a with hexafluoropropene [CF2=CF(CF3), HFP] takes an unprecedented turn, affording the Ni trifluoromethyl perfluoroalkenyl complex from formal transfer of one F from HFP to the Ni=CF2 moiety. The capability of 1a to perform cycloaddition with a broader substrate scope was investigating by reacting it with terminal aryl-acetylenes of varying electronic parameters. Reaction of 1a with 1.5 equivalents of 4-R-phenylacetylene afforded the expected difluorometallacyclobutenes (R = H, Cl, tBu). Further observation revealed a second acetylene insertion to yield a nickelacyclohexadiene in the first example of a 4- to 6-membered ring expansion of perfluorometallacycles. The six-membered metallacycle then undergoes reductive elimination to furnish a difluorocyclopentadiene. The electronic parameters of the aryl-acetylene substrate play a dramatic role in the selectivity of product formation. The more electron-donating substrates 4-tert-butylphenylacetylene and 1-hexyne stabilize the metallacyclobutene, while the electron-withdrawing 4-chlorophenylacetylene affords a more reactive metallacyclobutene making it more prone to the second acetylene insertion. Phenylacetylene represented a middle-ground between the two systems and proved effective for further characterization studies. The electronic effect of the surrounding ancillary ligand system was also studied by substituting dppe in 1a for P(OMe)3 and dipe to give analogous Ni(0) difluorocarbene complexes 1b and 1c (dipe = 1,2-bis(diisobutylphosphino)ethane). The -acidic phosphite ligands in 1b gave exclusively nickelacyclohexadiene and difluorinated cyclopentadiene due to a reactive metallacyclobutene, whereas the more electron rich 1c formed the metallacyclobutene product almost exclusively. The results presented here will allow for future investigations of fluorinated metallacycle reactivity, increasing our ability to prepare value-added fluorocarbon products for pharma, agrochemicals, and polymer applications.

Im Rahmen der vorliegenden Arbeit wurden mit gespannten Ringen überbrückte p-Elektronensysteme untersucht. Im ersten Teil wurde die Synthese von 1,2,3,5-Tetrahydro-1,2,3-methenopentalen (I) verbessert und die Reaktivität dieses gespannten Cyclopentadiens untersucht. Die Diels-Alder-Addukte von I (Benzvalenderivate) waren bei Raumtemperatur nicht beständig, da sie einer Umlagerung entweder in das aromatische Valenzisomer oder in die formalen [2+2]-Addukte (bei PTAD, Tetracyanoethen) unterliegen. Die Addukte von TCNE und PTAD waren bei 233 K im NMR-Spektrum beobachtbar. Das aus der Reaktion von I mit Singulett-Sauerstoff (1O2) hervorgehende Endoperoxid nahm in für diese Substanzklasse präzedenzloser Weise ein weiteres Molekül 1O2 auf. Die dabei gebildete Verbindung konnte nicht beobachtet werden und fragmentiert auf zwei verschiedenen Wegen unter Bildung stabiler Folgeprodukte. Quantenchemische Rechnungen an den unsubstituierten Stammkörpern der Diels-Alder-Addukte ergaben eine starke Pyramidalisierung dieser Alkene (21.2° bzw. 20.3°). Die ungewöhnlichen 13C-NMR-chemischen Verschiebungen dieser Verbindungen sind vermutlich auf diesen Effekt zurückzuführen. Im zweiten Teil wurden die Bindungslängenalternanz in mit gespannten Ringen 1,2-überbrückten Benzolen und Pyridazinen untersucht. Alle durch Röntgenstrukturanalyse bestimmten Strukturen weisen gering, aber sigifikant alternierende Bindungslängen im Aromaten auf. In den Pyridazinen wurde eine Zunahme der Alternanz in der Reihenfolge Cyclopentan-<Bicyclo[1.1.0]butan-<Cyclobutan-Brücke gefunden, die durch eine quantenchemische Berechnung der Enthalpie einer Modellreaktion (überbrücktes Ethen + cis-Butadien ® 2,3-überbrücktes Butadien + Ethen) korrekt vorhergesagt wird. / The focus of the present work are p-electron systems bridged with small strained rings. In the first part the synthesis of 1,2,3,5-Tetrahydro-1,2,3-methenopentalene (I) was improved and the reactivity of this strained cyclopentadiene was investigated. The compound I showed no reactivity in [2+2]- and [3+2]-cycloadditions. The Diels-Alder adducts of I (derivatives of benzvalene) were not stable at room temperature. They rearranged either into their aromatic valence isomers or into the formal [2+2]-cycloadducts (in the case of PTAD, TCNE). The [4+2]-cycloadducts of PTAD and TCNE could be observed at 233 K in the nmr spectra. The endoperoxide formed by reaction of I with singlett oxygen (1O2) unprecedentedly added another molecule of 1O2. The resulting compound could not be observed and fragmented in two different pathways under formation of stable products. Quantum chemical calculations on the geometry of the unsubstituted parent compounds of the Diels-Alder adducts showed a strong pyramidalisation of these alkenes (deviation from planarity of 21.2° and 20.3° respectively). The unusual 13C chemical shifts of these compounds are probably due to this effect. In the second part, bond length alternation in benzenes and pyridazines 1,2-bridged with small strained rings was investigated. The structures of all compounds, determined by x-ray analysis, show small but significantly alternating aromatic bond lengths. In the pyridazines the extent of bond alternation increases from cyclopentane to bicyclo[1.1.0]butane to cyclobutane bridged compound. The increase in correctly predicted by the calculation of the enthalpy of a model reaction (bridged ethene + cis-butadiene ® 2,3-bridged butadiene + ethene).

Der erste Teil der vorliegenden Arbeit befasst sich mit der Darstellung neuer achiraler und chiraler kationischer Ruthenium-Bis(phosphan)-Thiozimtaldehyd-Komplexe. Die Umsetzung der chiralen Hydrogensulfid-Komplexe mit unterschiedlich substituierten Zimtaldehyden in Anwesenheit von Trifluoressigsäure führt zu den chiralen Thiozimtaldehyd-Komplexen. Im zweiten Teil dieser Arbeit wird gezeigt, dass Thiozimtaldehyd-Komplexe bereitwillig Hetero-Diels-Alder-Reaktionen eingehen. Derartige Reaktionen können mit freien Vertretern dieser Spezies aufgrund deren Instabilität nur schwierig durchgeführt werden. Der dritte Teil der vorliegenden Arbeit befasst sich mit Cycloadditionsreaktionen der Thiozimtaldehyd-Komplexe mit 1,3-dipolaren Reagenzien. In einem weiteren Teil dieser Arbeit wird die Abspaltung der Thioether-Liganden vom Komplexfragment untersucht. / The first part of the present work deals with the synthesis of new achiral and chiral cationic Ru-bis(phosphane)-thiocinnamaldehyde complexes. The reaction of the chiral hydrogensulfido complexes with various substituted cinnamaldehydes in the presence of trifluoroacetic acid gives the chiral thiocinnamaldehyde complexes. In the second part of this work it is demonstrated that the thiocinnamaldehyde complexes readily undergo hetero-Diels-Alder-reactions. The third part of this work deals with cycloaddition reactions of thiocinnamaldehyde complexes with 1,3 dipolar molecules. In a further part of this work the elimination reactions of the thiopyran ligands from the complex fragments are examined.

Les galectines sont une famille de protéines cytosoliques possédant un domaine de reconnaissance pour les résidus β-D-galactosides et dont quatorze membres ont été identifiés chez les mammifères. Le rôle précis de ces lectines n'est pas très bien défini, mais tous les membres des galectines ont une très forte modulation de leurs expressions durant une étape de leurs développements spécifiques, sous différentes conditions physiologiques et pathologiques. Les galectines semblent être impliquées dans le processus d'apoptose, dans les réactions du système immunitaire et dans le processus de l'infection du VIH. Ainsi, une inhibition sélective de celles-ci pourrait mener à des traitements anti-cancers, anti-inflammatoires ou même anti-VIH. Dans le but de synthétiser des inhibiteurs sélectifs des galectines avec une augmentation de l'affinité, une réaction catalysée par transfert de phase a été utilisée pour la synthèse d'aryle O-et S-galactosides et lactosides. En plus d'obtenir des inhibiteurs ayant une affinité supérieure au ligand naturel, une corrélation a été découverte, soit entre la densité électronique de l'oxygène en position-3 du glucoside avec la propriété d'inhibition pour les dérivés lactosides pour la galectine-1. Ensuite, la synthèse régiosélective de dérivés triazoles et d'isoxazoles a aussi été exploitée pour l'obtention d'hétérocycles non-naturels dans le but de créer des interactions favorables avec les galectines. Le triazole C₃-symétrique s'est avéré être le meilleur inhibiteur pour les galectines-1 et -3. De plus, l'exploitation d'espaceurs rigides a été utilisée dans le but de synthétiser des inhibiteurs avec une augmentation de la sélectivité vis-à-vis la Concanavalin A. Des métaux de transition ont été utilisés tels que le palladium(0) pour la réaction de Sonogashira et l'octacarbonyle de dicobalt pour une réaction de benzannélation à partir de mannosides acétyléniques. Cette méthode peut être appliquée pour d'autres protéines ou lectines telles que les galectines. Finalement, le premier modèle QSAR pour la galectine-3 a été développé dans le but de concevoir une base de données fiable pour le développement de futurs antagonistes sélectifs de la galectine-3. L'étude réalisée suggère que les interactions non-covalentes telles que la lipophilie et la structure de l'inhibiteur sont des points importants pour l'obtention d'un inhibiteur sélectif de la galectine-3. ______________________________________________________________________________ MOTS-CLÉS DE L’AUTEUR : Galectine, Glycochimie, Cycloaddition, Catalyse par transfert de phase.

A new synthetic method toward 5-substituted isoxazolidines by [3 plus 2] cycloaddition of nitrones generated from nitrosobenzene and styrene was discovered. The formation of nitrones from nitrosobenzene and mono-substituted aromatic styrenes was demonstrated. The cycloaddition reactions between styrenes and nitrosobenzenes work well when a moderate excess of styrenes was employed. The labeling studies support that cleavage of the styrene double bond occurred and accounted for all the carbons in the starting materials and products. A [3 plus 2] dipolar cycloaddition is implicated by the available mechanistic data and allows for the rapid assembly of various substituted isoxazolidines directly from nitrosobenzenes, electron deficient alkenes, and styrene.

We have successfully using the exocyclic double bond of tricarbonyliron triene complexes to undergo (2+1) and (4+2) cycloaddition for the rapid construction of spiro[2.5]octane and spiro[5.5]undecane system. These cycloaddition reactions were chemo-, regio-, and stereoselective. Synthetic studies toward Upenamide, Manzamine A and Manzamine J by using 1-cyano-2,4-cyclohexadiene tricarbonyliron complexes were also discussed.

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Ruthenium-catalyzed cycloadditions of bicyclic alkenes with alkynyl phosphonates were investigated. In regard to the Ru-catalyzed [2+2] cycloadditions, the phosphonate moieties were found to be compatible, giving the corresponding cyclobutene cycloadducts in low to excellent yield (up to 96%). Alkynyl phosphonates showed lower reactivity than other heteroatom-substituted alkynes such as alkynyl halides, ynamides, alkynyl sulfides and alkynyl sulfones, and required a higher reaction temperature and much longer reaction time. To this end microwave heating was employed to expedite the reaction. While yields comparable to the conventionaly heated cycloadditions were not achieved, the reaction was much faster by microwave heating. In direct comparison over a 2 h period, yields were much greater in the microwave heated reactions. Computational studies determined that the electronic nature of the triple bond is sufficiently different in alkynyl phosphonates compared to other substituents. While investigating solvents of varying polarity in the microwave assisted [2+2] cycloaddition a new mode of reaction, previously unknown to this catalyst, was discovered. At elevated temperatures, in polar solvents, norbornadiene undergoes a Ru-catalyzed [2+2+2] homo Diels-Alder cycloaddition with alkynyl phophonates. This reaction was optimized to produce excellent yields with the model alkynyl phosphonate studied. Investigation of other alkynes revealed that the scope of this reaction may be limited to phosphonate substituted alkynes.