The Heck reaction is one of the most appreciated methods for carbon-carbon bond formation. Due to its mildness and ability to be tuned by additives, it often leaves few alternative competitive reactions. It has also proven easy to develop the reaction conditions in an environmentally benign direction. Through the introduction of palladium chelating groups in olefinic precursors for the Heck reaction, it has been possible to direct the substitution in the following Heck arylation in favor of the terminal position with good regioselectivity. In this thesis, the concept has been utilized to produce a small array of drug-like compounds at useful yields under fast microwave-enhanced conditions utilizing the thermostable Herrmanns palladacycle. During the last decade, this, together with other palladacycles has become commonly employed as precatalyst for the Heck reaction. However, there have been conflicting opinions regarding the mechanisms governing its catalytic effect. A PdII-PdIV catalytic cycle has been suggested to be operative, in contrast to the classical Pd0-PdII cycle. In order to clarify the presence of such a mechanism, a set of Heck reactions was performed with the advent of different palladium precatalysts (classical and palladacycles), which revealed that the regiochemicαal substitution pattern is highly conserved, regardless of which precatalyst was employed, and thus, the same mechanism seems to be operative. This is also supported by data from ESI-MS investigations where all the reactions investigated gave rise to the same set of oxidative addition complexes. A crafted route to 3-aryl-1,2-cyclohexandiones has been developed in which 1,2-cyclohexandione is produced is situ from 2,3-epoxycyclohexanone, followed by Heck arylation. A diverse array of aryl bromides encompassing electron-rich, electron-poor, neutral and sterically hindered repressentatives has been successfully utilized to produce the corresponding products at useful yields.The intramolecular Heck reaction offers a route to quaternary carbonic centersand is being increasingly exploited in synthetic endeavors. However, the use of electron-rich olefinic precursors is only reported in a few cases. The implementation of one capto-dative and five electron-rich olefins has therefore been successfully subjected to Heck reaction conditions rendering the corresponding spiro compounds.

Increasing attention has recently been directed toward 1,2,3-triazole-containing compounds. With their unique properties and excellent stability, 1,4-disubstituted triazoles are readily accessible via the copper catalyzed azide alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC). As compounds containing fused triazoles become common in pharmaceutical targets and biologically active substances, new strategies to synthesize this class of molecules are highly desirable. An efficient and highly modular approach toward the synthesis of three different heterocyclic motifs containing fused 1,2,3-triazoles is reported. The synthesis involved a Pd-catalyzed annulation of 5-iodo-1,2,3-triazoles, which were prepared by a Cu(I)-catalyzed cycloaddition of iodoalkynes and azides. This work demonstrates the versatility of iodotriazoles in Heck reactions and in direct arylations.

Increasing attention has recently been directed toward 1,2,3-triazole-containing compounds. With their unique properties and excellent stability, 1,4-disubstituted triazoles are readily accessible via the copper catalyzed azide alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC). As compounds containing fused triazoles become common in pharmaceutical targets and biologically active substances, new strategies to synthesize this class of molecules are highly desirable. An efficient and highly modular approach toward the synthesis of three different heterocyclic motifs containing fused 1,2,3-triazoles is reported. The synthesis involved a Pd-catalyzed annulation of 5-iodo-1,2,3-triazoles, which were prepared by a Cu(I)-catalyzed cycloaddition of iodoalkynes and azides. This work demonstrates the versatility of iodotriazoles in Heck reactions and in direct arylations.

A set of studies centered around the reactions of the active methine compound 1-carbomethoxy-5-dicyanomethyl-1,3-cyclohexadiene (the "ring-opened adduct"), obtained by base-induced ring-opening of the Diels-Alder adduct of 5,5-dicyanocyclopentadiene and methyl acrylate, has been carried out. A plan was devised for the anionic (at the dicyanomethyl carbon) ring-opened adduct whereby its reaction with electrophiles, for example Michael reactions with double-bond acceptors, would generate reactive intermediates that would undergo cyclization by tandem conjugate addition to the a,ß,?,d-unsaturated ring p-system to generate bicyclic compounds. In practice, reaction with di-<i>tert</i>-butyl methylidenemalonate, methyl vinyl ketone, and cyclopentenone generated intermediates that exhibited greater tandem reactivity than was anticipated: the bicyclic enolates were found to cyclize further by Thorpe-Ziegler-like reaction with the proximal nitrile to generate, after facile acid hydrolysis, substituted known tricyclic skeleta termed homobrendanes, specifically, tricyclo[5. 2. 1. 0^4,8]decenes. An attempt was made to generalize the reaction to other substrates, among them singly-activated Michael acceptors and 1,2-heteroatom electrophiles, but the generalization of the homobrendane forming reaction did not meet with success. Attempted functional group manipulations to probe the conversion of the homobrendane derived from di-<i>tert</i>-butyl methylidenemalonate to the homobrendane natural product 2-isocyanoallopupukeanane revealed the unreactivity of the skeletal double-bond toward electrophiles and the high reactivity of the ring ketone toward nucleophiles, among them mCPBA which brought about Baeyer-Villiger reaction, and chloride and hydroxide, which brought about addition/elimination reactions to cleave the last-formed homobrendane ring. <br /> The ring-opened adduct was also envisaged as a potential substrate in intramolecular Heck reactions. To this end, Heck substrates were generated from the ring-opened adduct anion and iodo- and bromo-benzyl halides. A key observation at this stage pertained to the unexpected acidity of the ring-opened adduct C5 proton, which could be deprotonated by DBU to bring about allylic isomerization, a finding that would provide a key insight to the pattern of reactivity later evidenced with alkyl propiolates. Optimization of the Heck substrate-generating reaction was followed by Heck reactions under Jeffery's conditions, which generated angular tricycles as intended, accompanied by aromatic compounds generated by base-induced HCN elimination/rearrangement and dehydrogenation. The Jeffery's conditions were optimized to limit the production of aromatics. <br /> The possibility of ring-opened adduct-derived vinyl silane intermediates undergoing cationic cyclizations led to a minor study based upon the bromination of allylsilanes and the elimination of TMSBr from 1,2-dibromo-3-trimethylsilyl compounds, accessible compounds unaccounted for in the review literature. It was determined that the combination of HBr and Br₂ (perhaps as HBr₃) was required to eliminate TMSBr, in contravention of the textbook account of electrophilic substitutions being the inherent reactions of allylsilanes and Br₂. <br /> Unexpected tandem reactivity was observed in the reactions of the anionic ring-opened adduct and alkyl propiolates under catalytic DBU conditions. Rather than tandem cyclization or simple adduct formation, the allenolate intermediates were determined to undergo extremely facile formal allenolate Cope rearrangements involving the ?,d-double-bond of the parent ring. Excess base intercepted the allenolate by deprotonating ring C5 and effecting 1,2-vinyl transfer by 3-<i>exo</i>-trig addition-elimination. The chemistry of the highly delocalized side-chain carbanion in the Cope product was studied in detail.

A set of studies centered around the reactions of the active methine compound 1-carbomethoxy-5-dicyanomethyl-1,3-cyclohexadiene (the "ring-opened adduct"), obtained by base-induced ring-opening of the Diels-Alder adduct of 5,5-dicyanocyclopentadiene and methyl acrylate, has been carried out. A plan was devised for the anionic (at the dicyanomethyl carbon) ring-opened adduct whereby its reaction with electrophiles, for example Michael reactions with double-bond acceptors, would generate reactive intermediates that would undergo cyclization by tandem conjugate addition to the a,ß,?,d-unsaturated ring p-system to generate bicyclic compounds. In practice, reaction with di-<i>tert</i>-butyl methylidenemalonate, methyl vinyl ketone, and cyclopentenone generated intermediates that exhibited greater tandem reactivity than was anticipated: the bicyclic enolates were found to cyclize further by Thorpe-Ziegler-like reaction with the proximal nitrile to generate, after facile acid hydrolysis, substituted known tricyclic skeleta termed homobrendanes, specifically, tricyclo[5. 2. 1. 0^4,8]decenes. An attempt was made to generalize the reaction to other substrates, among them singly-activated Michael acceptors and 1,2-heteroatom electrophiles, but the generalization of the homobrendane forming reaction did not meet with success. Attempted functional group manipulations to probe the conversion of the homobrendane derived from di-<i>tert</i>-butyl methylidenemalonate to the homobrendane natural product 2-isocyanoallopupukeanane revealed the unreactivity of the skeletal double-bond toward electrophiles and the high reactivity of the ring ketone toward nucleophiles, among them mCPBA which brought about Baeyer-Villiger reaction, and chloride and hydroxide, which brought about addition/elimination reactions to cleave the last-formed homobrendane ring. <br /> The ring-opened adduct was also envisaged as a potential substrate in intramolecular Heck reactions. To this end, Heck substrates were generated from the ring-opened adduct anion and iodo- and bromo-benzyl halides. A key observation at this stage pertained to the unexpected acidity of the ring-opened adduct C5 proton, which could be deprotonated by DBU to bring about allylic isomerization, a finding that would provide a key insight to the pattern of reactivity later evidenced with alkyl propiolates. Optimization of the Heck substrate-generating reaction was followed by Heck reactions under Jeffery's conditions, which generated angular tricycles as intended, accompanied by aromatic compounds generated by base-induced HCN elimination/rearrangement and dehydrogenation. The Jeffery's conditions were optimized to limit the production of aromatics. <br /> The possibility of ring-opened adduct-derived vinyl silane intermediates undergoing cationic cyclizations led to a minor study based upon the bromination of allylsilanes and the elimination of TMSBr from 1,2-dibromo-3-trimethylsilyl compounds, accessible compounds unaccounted for in the review literature. It was determined that the combination of HBr and Br₂ (perhaps as HBr₃) was required to eliminate TMSBr, in contravention of the textbook account of electrophilic substitutions being the inherent reactions of allylsilanes and Br₂. <br /> Unexpected tandem reactivity was observed in the reactions of the anionic ring-opened adduct and alkyl propiolates under catalytic DBU conditions. Rather than tandem cyclization or simple adduct formation, the allenolate intermediates were determined to undergo extremely facile formal allenolate Cope rearrangements involving the ?,d-double-bond of the parent ring. Excess base intercepted the allenolate by deprotonating ring C5 and effecting 1,2-vinyl transfer by 3-<i>exo</i>-trig addition-elimination. The chemistry of the highly delocalized side-chain carbanion in the Cope product was studied in detail.

The mechanism of carbon coupling reactions is traditionally represented in a very broad schematic. This thesis seeks to explore the mechanism of these reactions by focusing on Heck olefination. The Heck reaction has become a powerful tool in synthetic labs but the mechanism of this reaction has remained a topic of debate since the reaction's discovery. The catalytic cycle that has come to be accepted, while accurate in its own right, is not nearly as detailed as the complexity of the various stages of the Heck reaction suggest it should be. This study seeks to elucidate the nature of the oxidative addition of aryl halide to a palladium catalyst using a ligand that has been shown to have high activity in facilitating oxidative addition of aryl chlorides and bromides in other coupling reactions. This information is then compared to other studies in the field so that conclusions can be drawn about the oxidative addition. Also, selectivity studies seek to determine the nature of the migratory insertion of an olefin into the Pd-Ar bond. Again, comparison of results obtained in this study are compared to previous results so that a more definitive conclusion can be drawn about the oxidative addition.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Brigham Young University. Dept. of Chemistry and Biochemistry, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references.

M.Sc. / This study deals with the synthesis of nitrogen-donor imidazolyl- and pyrazolyl-salicylaldimine compounds, their reactions with selected transition metals and applications as catalysts for Heck coupling reactions of aryl halides with butyl acrylate, ethylene polymerization reactions and reactions of higher α-olefins. Imidazole-based salicylaldimine compounds 2,4-di-tert-butyl-6-{[2-(1H-imidazol-4-yl)-ethylimino]-methyl}-phenol (L1) and 4-tert-butyl-2-{[2-(1H-imidazole-4-yl)-ethylimino]-methly}-phenol (L2) were prepared by Schiff base condensation reaction of histamine dihydrochloride with 3,5-di-tert-butyl-2-hydroxybenzaldehyde and 5-tert-butyl-2-hydroxybenzaldehyde respectively. The compounds were characterized by 1H, 13C{1H} NMR and IR spectroscopy; and high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS). Compounds 2-{[2-(1H-imidazole-4-yl)-ethylimino]-methly}-phenol (L3), 2,4-di-tert-butyl-6-{[2-(3,5-dimethyl-pyrazol-1-yl)-ethylimino]-methyl}-phenol (L4), 2,4-di-tert-butyl-6-[(2-pyrazol-1-yl-ethylimino)-methyl]-phenol (L5) and 2,4-di-tert-butyl-6-{[2-(3,5-diphenyl-pyrazol-1-yl)-ethylimino]-methyl}-phenol (L6) were synthesized according to literature procedure. Reactions of L1-L3 with [PdCl2(MeCN)2] yielded complexes 2.1-2.3 respectively. Ligand L1 was also complexed with [FeCl2] and [CoCl2] to give complexes 2.4 and 2.5 respectively, while complexes 2.6-2.15 were synthesized by reactions of L1, L2 and L4-L6 with [VCl3] and [CrCl3(THF)3]; all in a ratio of 1:1. The palladium(II) complexes (2.1-2.3) were characterized by 1H, 13C{1H} NMR and IR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry and elemental analysis, while complexes 2.4-2.15 were characterized by IR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry and elemental analysis due to their paramagnetic nature. The structures of complexes 2.1 and 2.4 were confirmed by single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. All the complexes formed were mononuclear.

D.Phil. / Porphyrazines like porphyrins and phthalocyanines have unique physical, chemical and spectral properties. This allows them to have many impressive applications. They are less studied than phthalocyanines because of the absence of convenient methods for their synthesis. However, recent studies, including this one, have made these compounds more accessible. The palladium-imidazolium salt systems have proved to be one of the most successful catalysts for the Heck and Suzuki coupling reactions. Substituents on nitrogen atoms of imidazolium significantly influence the catalytic activities of the corresponding palladiumimidazolium salt systems in the Heck and Suzuki coupling. The synthesis of the imidazolium salts is discussed in this study. The synthesis of the imidazoles started from diamines. A new route for the synthesis of 4,5-diaminophthalonitrile is discussed here and so far it is the most convenient and less tedious route with higher yields. The catalytic activities on different substrates have also been extensively investigated and gave impressive results, on the Heck and Suzuki reaction. The catalysis study was first performed using the dicyanoimidazolium salts and then with the imidazolium salts of the porphyrazines. The results indicate that both these systems are active ligands for Suzuki and Heck reactions. Two complexes, [1’,1’’-dibutyl-3’,3’’-(4,5-(1,2-dicyanobenzene))diimidazolium dibromide] and [2,3-benzo(2’,3’-(3’’,3’’’-dibutyldiimidazolium-2’,2’’-diylidene)palladium(II)- dibromide)-7,8,12,13,17,18-hexapropyl,porphyrazine] were synthesised successfully in good yields and used for Suzuki and Heck catalysis reactions. Catalyst recovery in homogeneous catalysis is always a major problem; this led this study to make use of porphyrazines in biphasic catalysis because of their high extinction coefficient which comes from their very intense colour. The reactions were performed in a combination of water with toluene and also water with ionic liquid. Both this systems gave results which proved that it is possible to separate the catalyst and the products once the reaction is complete. Two aminoporphyrazines and phthalonitriles were also synthesised in multistep synthesis. The synthesis involved a lot of protection and deprotection steps. These compounds are starting materials to aminophosphine ligands which have a wide variety of catalysis applications.

M.Sc. (Chemistry) / Please refer to full text to view abstract