I. Completion of a Total Synthesis of Peloruside A: The completion of a 22 step synthesis of the marine natural product peloruside A is presented. The second generation strategy cuts 10 steps from longest linear sequence of the Evans group’s first generation synthesis of peloruside A by changing the order of fragment coupling operations and maintaining \(C_1\) and \(C_9\) at their final oxidation states over the course of most of the synthesis. Key steps include two highly diastereoselective aldol fragment couplings, a tin tetrachloride mediated hydrosilylation and a macrolactonization on a seco acid containing no cyclic templating elements. II. Studies toward the Total Synthesis of Spiro-Prorocentrimine: The development of an intermolecular Diels–Alder approach toward the marine natural product spiro–prorocentrimine is described. This work began with the adaptation of the Evans group’s previous intramolecular Diels–Alder approach. It was found that protonated imines bearing non-coordinating counterions were of sufficient reactivity to allow cycloaddition to occur even on dienes that were unreactive under the previous best conditions. In the course of these studies, isomerization of a macrocyclic diene during the course of a Diels–Alder reaction complicated the stereochemical outcome of the reaction. Reaction conditions to suppress the isomerization and obtain Diels–Alder adducts bearing the correct configuration at both \(C_9\) and \(C_{33}\) were developed based on a qualitative consideration of the pKas of species present in the reaction. The of several macrocyclic dienes was examined to help explain the course of the Diels–Alder reaction. Other key steps include an iron catalyzed olefin formation, the highly diastereoselective hydrogenation of a trisubstituted olefin in the presence of an enol ether, protecting group studies to suppress the contraction of a 15 membered lactone to a 6 membered lactone and studies of a protecting group strategy to allow installation of a sulfate. Lessons learned from this work and previous efforts are combined in a proposal for a bioinspired synthesis of spiro-prorocentrimine with a longest linear sequence of less than 30 steps. / Chemistry and Chemical Biology

Η ηλεκτροχημική ενίσχυση της κατάλυσης (EPOC ή αλλιώς μη-φαρανταïκή τροποποίηση της καταλυτικής ενεργότητας, φαινόμενο NEMCA) είναι ένα φαινόμενο όπου εφαρμογή μικρών ρευμάτων ή δυναμικών (±2V) σε ένα καταλύτη που είναι υποστηριγμένος σε ένα ηλεκτρολύτη, ιοντικό ή μικτό ιοντικό-ηλεκτρονιακό αγωγό, μπορεί να επιφέρει σημαντική τροποποίηση της καταλυτικής ενεργότητας αλλά και εκλεκτικότητας της αντίδρασης που γίνεται στην αέρια φάση, με τρόπο ελεγχόμενο, αντιστρεπτό και έως ένα βαθμό προβλέψιμο. Η ηλεκτροχημική ενίσχυση έχει βρεθεί με χρήση διαφόρων τεχνικών ότι πηγάζει από την ηλεκτροχημικά ελεγχόμενη διάχυση ενισχυτικών ιοντικών ειδών ανάμεσα στο φορέα-ηλεκτρολύτη και στα καταλυτικά σωματίδια. Το φαινόμενο έχει εφαρμοστεί σε πληθώρα καταλυτικών συστημάτων (πάνω από 70) τα τελευταία 30 χρόνια ενώ έχει πραγματοποιηθεί και επιτυχής εφαρμογή του σε πιλοτική κλίμακα χάρη στον μονολιθικό ηλεκτροχημικά ενισχυόμενο αντιδραστήρα. Στο πρώτο κεφάλαιο της παρούσας διατριβής γίνεται εκτεταμένη αναφορά στους στερεούς ηλεκτρολύτες, στις ιδιότητες τους καθώς και τους τομείς στους οποίους χρησιμοποιούνται με ιδιαίτερη σημασία στη σταθεροποιημένη με οξείδιο του υττρίου ζιρκονία (YSZ), που αποτελεί ένα πολύ συχνά χρησιμοποιούμενο αγωγό ιόντων οξυγόνου. Επιπρόσθετα, εισάγονται οι έννοιες της μετανάστευσης (spillover) και της αντίστροφης μετανάστευσης (backspillover), οι οποίες χρησιμοποιούνται στην ερμηνεία και την κατανόηση του φαινομένου της ηλεκτροχημικής ενίσχυσης και των αλληλεπιδράσεων μετάλλου-φορέα (MSI). Στο δεύτερο κεφάλαιο γίνεται μια εισαγωγή στις αρχές του φαινομένου της Ηλεκτροχημικής Ενίσχυσης της Κατάλυσης όπου συζητούνται αρκετά παραδείγματα εφαρμογής του και γίνεται ανασκόπηση όλων των εργασιών που υπάρχουν στην βιβλιογραφία και αφορούν στο συγκεκριμένο φαινόμενο. Παρουσιάζονται επίσης, πλήθος πειραματικών τεχνικών, όπως ηλεκτροκινητικών πειραμάτων δυναμικής απόκρισης, μετρήσεων έργου εξόδου, κυκλικής βολταμμετρίας, XPS, TPD και STM, καθώς και θεωρητικών μελετών ,με στόχο την κατανόηση της αρχής του φαινομένου σε ατομικό επίπεδο. Στο τρίτο κεφάλαιο παρουσιάζονται τα πειραματικά αποτελέσματα από την εφαρμογή του φαινομένου της ηλεκτροχημικής ενίσχυσης της κατάλυσης στην αντίδραση βιομηχανικής σημασίας της υδρογονοαποθείωσης (HDS). Στην παρούσα μελέτη χρησιμοποιήθηκε η πρότυπη ένωση του θειοφαινίου, χρησιμοποιώντας στερεούς ηλεκτρολύτες αγωγούς ιόντων (BCN18, CZI ή YSZ) σε συνδυασμό καταλύτες, όπως RuS2, MoS2, FeSx και MoS2-CoS2 καθώς και μη-στηριγμένους όπως ο Nebula (NiMoW). Η μελέτη επικεντρώθηκε στην επίτευξη ηλεκτροχημικής ενίσχυσης στην HDS του θειοφαινίου υπό συνθήκες ατμοσφαιρικής πίεσης στο θερμοκρασιακό εύρος 250οC-550οC. Ηλεκτροχημική Ενίσχυση επιτεύχθηκε σε συνολικά 10 καταλυτικά ηλεκτρόδια. Στην περίπτωση χρήσης πρωτονιακών αγωγών, τιμές προσαύξησης ρυθμού έως 20% και φαρανταϊκής απόδοσης έως ~600 καταγράφησαν, αναδεικνύοντας την ισχυρά μη-φαρανταϊκή συμπεριφορά και το υψηλό ενεργειακό όφελος σε Τ<300oC. Στην περίπτωση των αγωγών ιόντων οξυγόνου (YSZ) προσαύξηση ρυθμού έως και 300% καταγράφηκε με τιμές φαρανταϊκής απόδοσης έως και 0.2 στους 500oC. Στο τέταρτο κεφάλαιο παρουσιάζεται η ηλεκτροχημική ενίσχυση της αντίδρασης υδρογόνωσης του CO2 χρησιμοποιώντας καταλυτικά υμένια Ru εναποτεθειμένα σε στερεούς ηλεκτρολύτες YSZ με στόχο την παραγωγή μεθανίου. Βρέθηκε ότι η αντίδραση μπορεί να ενισχυθεί σε μεγάλο βαθμό και επιπλέον να τροποποιηθεί και η εκλεκτικότητά της σε CΗ4 που είναι και το επιθυμητό προϊόν. / Electrochemical Promotion of Catalysis (EPOC or Non-Faradaic Electrochemical Modification of Catalytic Activity, NEMCA effect) is a phenomenon where the application of small currents or potentials (±1V) between a catalyst electrode, which is in contact with a solid electrolyte support, and a counter or reference electrode, causes a significant change in catalytic activity in a predictable, reversible and to some extend controllable manner. As have been shown by numerous surface science and electrochemical techniques, electrochemical promotion is due to electrochemically controlled migration (backspillover) of promoting or poisoning ionic species between the ionic or mixed ionic-electronic conductor support and the gas exposed catalytic surface. Τhe phenomenon has been studied extensively in a variety of catalytic systems (>70) during the last 30 years, while it has been successfully applied in a pilot scale reactor, the monolithic electrochemically promoted reactor (MEPR) in environmental important reactions. In the first chapter, an extended analysis is given of the properties of solid electrolytes, and focused on the yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ). Moreover, the concepts of spillover and backspillover, which are used to describe the phenomenon of electrochemical promotion and the metal-support interactions, are discussed in detail. In the second chapter, the fundamentals of Electrochemical Promotion of Catalysis are discussed in the basis of classical promotion, reaction kinetics and the rules of Electrochemical Promotion of Catalysis. In the third chapter, the effect of the electrochemical promotion of catalysis on the hydrodesulfurization (HDS) reaction of sulfur containing model compounds (thiophene) has been investigated, using ion conducting solid electrolytes (BCN18, CZI or YSZ) and state-of-the-art catalysts, e.g. RuS2, MoS2, MoS2-CoS2 and the unsupported state-of-the-art catalyst Nebula (NiMoW). In this study thiophene, was used under atmospheric pressure in the temperature range of 250 οC -550οC. Significant Electrochemical Promotion was achieved with 10 different CoMo based catalyst-electrodes. Values of rate enhancement up to 20% and faradaic efficiency values up to ~600 were achieved, denoting the strongly non-faradaic behavior and high energy efficiency at T<300oC. In the case of oxygen ion conductors (YSZ) an increase of 300% on the catalytic rate and a faradaic efficiency value of 0.2 was recorded at 500oC. The results show the strong potential of Electrochemical Promotion of Catalysis on improving the efficiency of industrial and/or environmental processes. In the last chapter, the electrochemical promotion of the CO2 hydrogenation reaction was also examined, towards methane production using Ru/YSZ/Au type electrochemical catalytic elements. It was found that the reaction rates and similarly as well as the selectivity to CH4 can be enhanced under anodic polarizations.

Although carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas is a serious environmental concern, it remains a valuable C1 source if viable methods are available for its conversion into useful products. Herein, we present recent progress in the synthesis of aliphatic, aromatic, cyclic, and bicyclic beta-ketocarboxylic acids and the promising results from subsequent asymmetric hydrogenation to give beta-hydroxycarboxylic acids. For the synthesis of the beta-ketocarboxylic acids, we investigated the effects of temperature, reaction time, and amount of 1,8-diazabicyclo(5.4.0)undec-7-ene (DBU), which is a promoter for carbon-carbon bond formation with CO2. The highest-yielding conditions for this DBU-promoted carboxylation reaction were used to carboxylate a number of aliphatic and aromatic substrates. In order to determine whether the hydrogenation reaction will effectively compete with the in situ decarboxylation of the beta-ketocarboxylic acids, 1H NMR spectroscopy was used to monitor the rate of decarboxylation. The solvent, electronic, and steric effect on the rate of decarboxylation was investigated by testing a variety of beta-ketocarboxylic acids. Using œRuCl2{(S)-BINAP} catalyst precursor, we determined the effect that solvent, H2 pressure, base, and substrate substitution had on the enantioselectivity of the asymmetric hydrogenation. CH2Cl2 and MeOH were determined to be the best solvents because of the high hydrogenation selectivity, high enantioselectivity, and decreased reaction times. These standard conditions were used to hydrogenate the variety of aliphatic and aromatic beta-ketocarboxylic acids previously synthesized. Additional experiments, including deuterium labelling, were performed in an attempt to elucidate the hydrogenation mechanism and the actively hydrogenated tautomer. These results lead us to believe that different reaction pathways occur in protic versus aprotic solvents. The results discussed herein represent the first in depth investigation of transition metal catalyzed hydrogenation of beta-ketocarboxylic acids. These results are very encouraging because enantioselectivities greater than 99 % were achieved for multiple beta-keto acids. This synthesis is industrially advantageous due to the limited number of reactants required, their low-cost, and the potential for recycling unused materials. / Thesis (Master, Chemistry) -- Queen's University, 2008-08-26 10:17:34.703

The side-on dioxygen adducts of N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) containing rhodium complexes, [ClRh(IPr)2(O2)] and [ClRh(IMes)2(O2)], previously synthesized in our laboratories possess a square planar geometry and O-O bond lengths of 1.323(3) and 1.341(4) Å, respectively. Both of these attributes are uncharacteristic of Rh(O2) complexes, which are typically octahedral and possess O-O bond lengths of approximately 1.45 Å. Full characterization by NMR, IR, Raman, DFT and XAS confirmed the short O-O bond lengths of these structures and revealed that they were rhodium(I) coordination complexes of singlet oxygen with no net oxidation/reduction process having taken place. The unique bonding mode appears to result from the interaction of a filled Rh d orbital with one of the two degenerate O2 * orbitals, which causes splitting of the O2 * orbitals, favoring spin pairing in the O2 HOMO, and the inability of Rh to donate electron density to the empty * orbital. Initial investigations of these complexes as catalysts for the reduction and oxidation of C-O bonds, as well as singlet oxygen generation were also undertaken. Rh(IPr)2 coordination complexes of N2, H2 and CO were also synthesized and characterized by X-ray crystallography, NMR and elemental analysis. Interestingly, the addition of hydrogen gas to rhodium did result in oxidation of the metal. A Rh(NHC) complex featuring an anionic acetate ligand, [(AcO)Rh(IPr)(CO)2], was synthesized and characterized by NMR, IR and X-ray crystallography. This complex proved to be an effective catalyst for the regioselective hydroformylation of aliphatic and aromatic alkenes, which occurred without isomerization of the alkene. Initial rates of hydroformylation with our catalyst were compared to the chloride analogue, [ClRh(IPr)(CO)2], and demonstrated the beneficial nature of replacing the halide with a carboxylate ligand, which is less inhibiting of the reaction. The synthesis of a bifunctional hydrogenation catalyst featuring a protic-NHC was attempted by addition of benzimidazoles to [Cl2Ru(diphosphine)]. Although these attempts were unsuccessful, a large number of complexes of the formula [Cl2Ru(diphosphine)(-N3-benzimidazole)2] were synthesized and proved to be effective catalysts for the chemoselective hydrogenation of ketones versus alkenes. Use of chiral diphosphines and 1-triphenylmethylbenzimidazole yielded catalysts capable of producing secondary alcohols with moderate enantioselectivity. / Thesis (Ph.D, Chemistry) -- Queen's University, 2010-09-17 12:44:52.686

No description available.

The removal of trace amounts of acetylene in ethylene streams is a high-volume industrial process that must possess high selectivity of alkyne hydrogenation over hydrogenation of alkenes. Current technology uses metallic nanoparticles, typically palladium or platinum, for acetylene removal. However, problems arise due to the deactivation of the catalysts at high temperatures as well as low selectivities at high conversions. Pore expanded MCM-41 is synthesized via a two-step strategy in which MCM-41 was prepared via cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTMABr) followed by the hydrothermal treatment with N,N-dimethyldecylamine (DMDA). This material was washed with ethanol to remove DMDA, or calcined to remove both surfactants. PE-MCM-41 based materials were impregnated with palladium, gold, and palladium-gold nanoparticles. The removal of DMDA had an effect on both the conversion and selectivity, in which they were found to drop significantly. However, by using the bimetallic PdAu catalysts, higher selectivity could be achieved due to increased electron density.

Several new late transition metal complexes containing P-O and P-N ligands derived from 2-dicyclohexylphosphinoacetaldehyde were synthesized. A facile one-pot template method is used for the synthesis of P-N complexes, where the phosphine aldehyde and amine can undergo a condensation reaction to form a phosphine-imine metal complex in the presence of a metal precursor. Metal complexes with phosphino-enolate, imine, and oxime ligands are synthesized. Ni(II), Pt(II), Rh(I) and Ir(I) metal centres were investigated. The Rh(I) and Ir(I) complexes contain a 1,5-cyclooctadiene ligand, thus resembling Crabtree’s hydrogenation catalyst [Ir(COD)(py)(PCy3)][PF6]. These complexes are also active catalysts for olefin hydrogenation. Furthermore, the synthesis of a new chiral amine functionalized NHC ligand is explored, which has potential applications as a ligand in the metal-catalyzed enantioselective hydrogenation of polar bonds. This ligand is inspired by previous achiral hydrogenation catalysts reported by Morris et al. that displayed high activity for a variety of unsaturated substrates.

In this study, a new arranged catalyst support with distinct open pore morphology has been fabricated via thermal oxidation of an FeCrAl alloy with an aim to address mass transfer limitations that conventional supports have due to their internal porosity. Subsequent characterization tests including, drop shape analysis, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy revealed that the support formed upon thermal oxidation for 1 hour at 930C, 1 hour at 960C and 2 hours at 990C embodies advantageous support characteristics. Preliminary tests were performed using palladium (active component) deposited on the new support in representative three phase hydrogenation reactions of 2-methyl-3-butyn-2-ol or 2-methyl-3-buten-2-ol. Absence of mass transfer limitations was verified for 2-methyl-3-buten-2-ol hydrogenation at 35-50C, 1200 rpm stirring speed and 0.46 MPa pressure of hydrogen in a 300 ml semi-batch reactor using ethanol as solvent. The study paves the way to the development of arranged catalysts based on FeCrAl alloy fibers for structured reactors. / Chemical Engineering

Transition-metal-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation is one of the most efficient, straightforward, and well-established methods for preparing enantiomerically enriched compounds. Over the past decades, significant progress has been made with iridium, rhodium and ruthenium complexes to asymmetric hydrogenate a selection of olefins, such as, α,β-unsaturated carboxylic acid derivatives, ketones, imines and phosphonates. Although these metals have been applied successfully in the hydrogenation of olefins, they differ in their substrate tolerance.  Ruthenium and rhodium based catalysts require a coordinating group in the vicinity of the C=C bond. However, iridium based catalysts do not require this coordinating group, hence, asymmetric hydrogenation with iridium catalysts has been widely used for both functionalized and unfunctionalized olefin substrates. This thesis focuses on expanding the substrate scope for asymmetric hydrogenation using chiral N,P-ligated iridium catalysts. Papers I and II investigate the asymmetric hydrogenation of prochiral N-heterocyclic compounds prepared by ring-closing metathesis using the iridium catalysts developed in our group.  These substrates are interesting as they bear resemblance to pharmaceutically active compounds and therefore have tremendous value in medicinal chemistry.  Excellent enantioselectivities, up to &gt;99% ee and conversions were obtained. In papers III and IV we synthesized many unsaturated acyclic and cyclic sulfones with varying substitution patterns.  The sulfones were subjected to hydrogenation using our N,P-ligated iridium catalysts, producing the chiral sulfone products in high enantiomeric excess (up to 99% ee). This methodology was combined with the Ramberg-Bäcklund reaction, offering a novel route to chiral allylic and homoallylic compounds. In addition to obtaining these chiral compounds in good yields, no decrease in enantiomeric excess was observed after the Ramberg-Bäcklund reaction. This strategy has been applied in the preparation of the chiral building block for renin inhibitors.

This thesis discusses the preparation and use of transition-metal catalysts for selective organic chemical reactions. Specifically, two different matters have been studied; the asymmetric hydrogenation of carbon-carbon double bonds using N,P-ligated iridium catalysts and the metal-catalyzed transfer of small molecules from biomass to synthetic intermediates. In the first part of this thesis, chiral N,P-ligands were synthesized and evaluated in iridium catalysts for the asymmetric hydrogenation of non- and weakly functionalized alkenes (Papers I &amp; II). The new catalysts were prepared via chiral-pool strategies and exhibited superior properties for the reduction of certain types of alkenes. In particular, some of the catalysts showed excellent activity and selectivity in the enantioselective reduction of terminal alkenes, and the preparation of a modular catalyst library allowed the asymmetric hydrogenation of a wide range of 1,1-disubstituted alkenes with unprecedented efficiency and enantioselectivity (Paper III). Methods for the selective preparation of chiral hetero- and carbocyclic fragments using iridium-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation as an enantiodetermining key step were also developed. A range of elusive chiral building blocks that have applications in pharmaceutical and natural-product chemistry could thus be conveniently prepared (Papers IV &amp; V). The second part of this thesis deals with the catalytic decomposition of polysaccharides into sugar alcohols and the incorporation of their decomposition products into alkene substrates. Iridium-catalyzed dehydrogenative decarbonylation was found to decompose polyols into CO:H2 mixtures that could be used immediately in the ex situ low-pressure hydroformylation of styrene (Paper VI). The net process was thus the hydroformylation of alkenes with biomass-derived synthesis gas.