This work describes developments in new azetidine and azetine chemistry; specifically, methods developed for the introduction of functionality α- to nitrogen in both ring systems, with additionally in situ formation of the latter system, from azetidine substrates. Chapter 1 discusses the growing importance of azetidines, and the current methods available for making substituted azetidines by ring formation. Further discussion comprises of current sp³ C–H activation approaches α- to nitrogen in heterocyclic compounds as potential methods for sp³ C–H activation on azetidines to give substituted azetidines. Previous work by the Hodgson group in this area is detailed. Chapter 2 describes the advance made towards 2,3-disubstituted azetidines using the thiopivaloyl protecting/activating group, where the latter plays a key role. Optimisation, scope, selectivity and mechanistic insight into the α-deprotonation–electrophile trapping of a 3-hydroxy azetidine system is discussed, which successfully gives access to a range of 3-hydroxy-2-substituted azetidines. Preliminary investigations with 3-alkyl-2-substituted azetidines are also described. Chapter 3 describes the development of a straightforward protocol to make 2-substituted-2- azetines, a rarely studied and difficult to access 4-membered azacycle subclass, from readily accessible azetidine starting materials using α-deprotonation–in situ elimination followed by further α-lithiation–electrophile trapping. Extension of this methodology by transmetallation from the intermediate organolithium to the organocuprate, resulting in greater electrophile scope, is also described.

Benzylic fluorides are attractive target molecules for medicinal chemistry, agrochemicals and materials chemistry. The enantioselective synthesis of benzylic fluorides is challenging and few general methods exist. This thesis describes several approaches to the synthesis of benzylic fluoride targets, including enantioselective processes. Chapter 1: Reviews the properties, uses and synthetic approaches to fluorinated molecules, with a particular focus on benzylic fluorides and enantioselective syntheses. Chapter 2: Describes the fluorination cyclisation of prochiral indole precursors. The use of catalytic amounts of a bis-cinchona alkaloid gave good enantioselectivities for the cyclisation. Alcohol, tosylamine, amide and carbamate pendant nucleophiles all cyclised successfully to give quaternary benzylic fluorides in moderate yields and with enantioselectivities up to 92%. The substrate scope of the reaction is described, as well as methodology for deprotection of cyclised nitrogen nucleophiles. Chapter 3: Details an investigation of the Pd catalysed substitution of polycyclic benzylic fluorides by a range of nucleophiles and their relative reactivity in comparison to oxygen leaving groups. Modification of the methodology to enable reaction of monocyclic substrate substitution was enabled by the use of a protic solvent. Chemoselective reaction conditions were identified for selective reaction of Bn-F or Ar-Cl bonds and comparative reactivity studies were undertaken. The feasibility of Pd(0)/(II) catalysed nucleophilic C-F bond formation was examined. Chapter 4: The development of the defluorination methodology from Chapter 3 for secondary substrates is described. The stereochemical course of defluorination was probed, showing that displacement of fluoride is mechanistically similar to that of oxygen leaving groups. A kinetic resolution with a low selectivity was developed for access to enantioenriched benzylic fluorides.

Hydrogenases are a family of enzyme that catalyses the bidirectional interconversion of H⁺ and H₂. There are two major classes of hydrogenases: the [NiFe(Se)]- and [FeFe]-hydrogenases. Both of these benefit from characteristics which would be advantageous to their use in technological devices for H₂ evolution and the generation of energy. These features are explored in detail in this thesis, with a particular emphasis placed on defining the conditions that limit the activity of hydrogenases when reducing H⁺ to produce H₂. Electrochemistry can be used as a direct measure of enzymatic activity; thus, Protein Film Electrochemistry, in which the protein is adsorbed directly onto the electrode, has been employed to probe catalysis by hydrogenases. Various characteristics of hydrogenases were probed. The catalytic bias for H₂ production was interrogated and the inhibition of H₂ evolution by H₂ itself (a major drawback to the use of some hydrogenases in technological devices to produce H₂) was quantified for a number of different hydrogenase. Aerobic inactivation of hydrogenases is also a substantial technological limitation; thus, inactivation of both H₂ production and H₂ oxidation by O₂ was studied in detail. This was compared to inhibition of hydrogenases by CO so as to elucidate the mechanism of binding of diatomic molecules and determine the factors limiting inactivation. This allows for a preliminary proposal for the genetic redesigning of hydrogenases for biotechnological purposes to be made. Finally, preliminary investigation of the binding of formaldehyde, potentially at a site integral to proton transfer, opens the field for further research into proton transfer pathways, the structural implications thereof and their importance in catalysis.

This thesis describes the synthesis, characterisation and reactivity of diamide-amine and bis(cyclopentadienyl) supported Group 4 hydrazido(2-) compounds towards unsaturated molecules. The mechanisms of these transformations are probed using a range of structural, kinetic and computational methods.

Rhodium-catalysed hydroacylation provides a highly atom economic synthesis of ketone products from the combination of aldehydes and multiple bond systems by C-H bond activation. This work evaluates the combination of intermolecular hydroacylation for the synthesis of classical heterocycle precursors and their dehydrative cyclisation to give rise to a range of substituted heterocyclic compounds. Chapter 1 outlines recent developments in the chemistry of hydroacylation. Particular attention is paid to the various chelation strategies employed in intermolecular hydroacylation. Chapter 2 discusses some relevant and recent developments in the field of pyridine and pyrrole synthesis. Having established that β-sulphur chelation controlled hydroacylation can be used to synthesise pyridines in Chapter 3; attention was turned to hydroacylation of propargyl amines in Chapter 4. The methodology was expanded to provide a synthesis of γ-amino enones. The hydroacylation reaction and cyclisation is combined in a procedure that utilises thermal Boc-deprotection and cyclisation to give a range of highly-substituted pyrroles. The regioselectivity of the hydroacylation of propargyl amines is investigated in Chapter 5 by application of statistical Design of Experiments methodology. Optimised conditions were identified with minor improvements in the selectivity of the reaction.

The development of new methods for carbon-carbon bond formation is a challenging topic at the heart of organic chemistry. Over the past ten years a number of methods for the catalytic asymmetric 1,4-addition of organometallic reagents such as Grignard, organozinc and organoaluminium reagents have been reported. However these reagents suffer from many limitations, including the need for cryogenic temperatures, which prevent their widespread use. Here we have developed a new asymmetric method: the copper-catalysed enantioselective 1,4-addition of alkylzirconium compounds, generated in situM/em>, from alkenes. A general introduction into the formation of carbon-carbon bonds and catalytic asymmetric 1,4-addition reactions is first given. We then focus our attention on hydrometallation reactions and their current use in the addition of alkenyl and alkyl groups in asymmetric 1,4-addition reactions. In Chapter two, we introduce the development of our methodology. We found that by using copper complex <b>(S,S,S)-A</b>, high enantioselectivities can be achieved (up to 96% ee), in the presence of a broad range of functional groups which are often not compatible with comparable methods using pre-made organometallic reagents. The method gives good enantioselectivity at room temperature, in a wide range of solvents, using readily available alkenes. Chapter three discusses the expansion of our method to the 1,4- and 1,6-addition to complex steroids. Modified conditions were then found to enable the addition to &beta;-substituted enones, to form quaternary centres. This is followed by the successful addition to &alpha;,&beta;-unsaturated lactones, another difficult substrate class. All these results gave excellent selectivity. In summary, we have developed a new reaction which offers an alternative to current methods reported in the literature. This robust reaction can tolerate a variety of functional groups and we hope that this will aid in the synthesis of important molecules.

La préparation par voie Chimie Organométallique de Surface de nouveaux catalyseurs à base de hafnium supportés sur l’γ-alumine déshydroxylée à 500°C, γ-Al2O3-(500°C), a été réalisée dans ce travail de thèse. La combinaison de résultats chimiques (bilan matière, analyses élémentaires, marquage isotopique, thermolyse, réactions d’hydrogénolyse, d’oxydation, et réactions en réacteur continu), spectroscopiques (IR, RMN 1D, 2D), et des modélisation DFT ont abouti à la caractérisation et à la quantification des cinq produits majoritaires lors de la réaction de [Hf(CH2tBu)4] avec γ-Al2O3-(500°C) : un complexe monopodale (2), [(≡AlIVO) Hf(CH2tBu)3] (40%), un complexe bipodale dans deux environnements différents (4a and 4b), [(AlsO)(≡AlIVO)Hf(CH2tBu)2], (26%) et deux complexes cationiques (5 and 6) [(≡AlIVO)(AlsO)(Al-O-Al)]Hf(CH2tBu)] + [tBuCH2Als]- (Als correspond à un aluminium de surface Al III ou un AlV ) ( 34%). L’hydrogénolyse de ces complexes conduit à la formation majoritaire à 150°C de complexes monohydrures de hafnium du type :[(AlsO)3Hf-H], (70-80%) et [(≡AlIVO)(AlsO)Hf-H]+[(CH2tBu)Als]- (20-30%) caractérisés et quantifiés par la même approche expérience-théorie. Tous ces complexes sont actifs en polymérisation des α-oléfines (éthylène, propylène, isobutylène) et en copolymérisation éthylène-isobutylène. L’étude de ces réactions catalytiques a nécessité l’adaptation et la mise au point d’un réacteur en phase gaz spécifique appelé « Gas stopped flow polymérization » / New well-defined hafnium alkyl and hydrid complexes supported on γ-alumina dehydroxylatedt at 500°C, γ-Al2O3-(500°C), have been prepared. The structure of the surface complexes obtained by grafting Hf(CH2tBu)4, 1, on γ-alumina has been resolved by a combined experimental (mass balance analysis, labeling, in situ IR, NMR) and theoretical (DFT calculations) study. Thermolysis, oxidation and hydrogenolysis reactions have unambiguously proved the presence of two kinds of neopentyl-metal bonds: Hf-CH2tBu and Al-CH2tBu. Three coexisting surface complexes have been fully characterized and quantified: a monoaluminoxy- [(≡AlIVO)Hf(CH2tBu)3], a neutral bisaluminoxy [(≡AlIVO)(AlsO)Hf(CH2tBu)2], and a zwitterionic bisaluminoxy complex [(≡AlIVO) (AlsO)Hf(CH2tBu)2]+[(CH2tBu)Als]- in 40 %, 26 %, and 34 %, respectively. Hydrogenolysis reaction of these complexes leads to the formation at 150°C of [(AlsO)3HfH], (70-80%) and [(≡AlIVO)(AlsO)Hf(H)]+[(CH2tBu)Als]- (20-30%). All these hafnium alkyl and hydrides are active in α-olefin polymerization in absence of a co-catalyst

The current dissertation thesis is focused on the investigation of metal-catalyzed reactions using electrospray ionization mass spectrometry as the primary research technique. However, other gas- phase methods such as tandem mass spectrometry, infrared multiphoton dissociation spectroscopy and quantum chemical calculations have also been involved to unravel and support the findings and proposals. As organometallic chemistry is a very broad and complicated topic, this thesis is only focused on a few projects. The fist of them is dedicated to copper acetate speciation in organic solvents, the second - to the mechanistic investigation of copper catalyzed aerobic cross coupling of thiol esters and arylboronic acids, the third studied coordination and bond activation of nickel(II) - phenylpyridine complexes and the last investigated carboxylate assisted C-H activation reactions.

<div><div><div><p>The chemistry of the f-block is relatively unknown when compared to the rest of the periodic table. Transition metals and main group elements have enjoyed thorough study and development over the last 200 years, while many of the lanthanides and actinides weren’t even discovered until the 1940’s. This is troublesome, as knowledge of these elements is critical for environmental, industrial and technological advances. Understanding bonding motifs and reactivity pathways is fundamental to advancing the field of f-block chemistry. The use of redox- active ligands has aided in the construction of new bonding modes and discovery of new reaction pathways by providing electrons for these transformations. A particularly successful partnership is formed when redox-active ligands are combined with lanthanides, as these elements are usually considered redox-restricted. A series of lanthanide complexes featuring the iminoquinone ligand in three oxidation states will be discussed. The use of the ligands as a source of electrons for reactivity is also described, with new bonding motifs for lanthanides being realized. The iminoquinone ligand can also serve to break bonds. The uranyl (UO22+) ion is notoriously difficult to handle due to its strong U-O multiple bonds. To overcome this, we developed a series of uranyl complexes and studied the ability of the iminoquinone ligand to serve as an electron source for reduction of uranium, with concomitant U-O bond cleavage.</p></div></div></div>

Automation plays an integral role in our daily lives. From transportation to agriculture, we rely on robots and programs to assist in accomplishing tasks. Chemistry is no except with the deployment of high throughput screening and the recent machine-led reaction discovery, there is increased interest to integrate artificial intelligence and robotics beyond medicinal and synthetic organic chemistry. The addition of automation to mechanistic studies can improve the method in which reactions are understood experimentally and fundamentally. Chapter 1 introduces the basics of reaction chemistry. As we are interested in how the reaction occurs, for this work, there is a natural bias towards understanding kinetic behaviour. Chronograms obtained through mass spectrometry facilitate understanding of kinetics. The introduction of mass spectrometry in this chapter establishes the foundation of this technique for the subsequent experimental chemistry chapters. Chapter 2 investigates the reduction and subsequent oxidation of titanocene, generating a complex mixture of oxidized products. During this investigation, an interesting and rare methyl abstraction event occurred that led to the deuterium label study to understand a radical-based oxo-titanium reaction. This was made possible by Pressurized Sample Infusion Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry (PSI-ESI-MS) coupled with a smartphone colorimetry technique developed herein known as ColorPixel. In Chapter 3 we explore the integration of machine learning with reaction monitoring. The attempt to classify reaction roles based on kinetic traces was done to automate the process of identifying important species in a reaction. Often there is a large amount of data from a PSI-ESI-MS experiment, but it is time-consuming to pick out the most important species. Implementing machine learning for reaction role classification can ease this process from taking three months to accomplish to one day. This chapter also outlines the development of Kendrick, an automated reaction sampler. Combined, these tools have the potential to impact reaction monitoring through robotic assistance and can speed up the process of reaction quantification through automated processing platforms to handle the streams of data. Chapter 4 starts with the implementation of a lightweight mass spectrometry library, Spectra.ly, that is suitable for any developers using python. This platform establishes a firm foundation that can enable developers to build complex programs using simple code. This chapter also describes the collaboration project PythoMS and the development process for this framework. In addition to the framework, the chapter also describes the development of two pieces of processing software: Sinatra – a cloud-ready EDESI processing platform, and AutoMRM – a cloud-based Multiple Reaction Monitoring method development web application. / Graduate