No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

The majority of interest in organolithium and organoaluminum compounds has centered around their potency as polymerization catalysts.

This thesis describes the synthesis and crystallisation of a selection of known and novel transition-metal – nitrite complexes and their detailed study using non-ambient X-ray diffraction techniques. These coordination compounds are specifically investigated for their ability to undergo nitro – nitrito linkage isomerisation in the single-crystal, with conversion between isomers achieved on either thermal- or photoactivation. The lifetime of the excited-state isomer is strongly dependent on the experimental temperature and, as such, this thesis is also concerned with time-resolved crystallographic methods. This work relies primarily on the technique of photocrystallography, a growing area of crystallographic research that has enjoyed considerable interest in recent decades. Chapter 1 reviews the seminal progress made in both time-resolved and photocrystallographic research, made possible by dramatic technological advances in the field in recent decades. Chapter 2 outlines the goals of this research project, aiming to obtain a more detailed understanding of the factors that influence the solid-state nitro – nitrito isomerisation. Chapter 3 describes the X-ray methods used in these studies, introducing both fundamental crystallographic principles and detailing the experimental procedures that are undertaken. Chapters 4 and 5 record steady-state photocrystallographic studies conducted for a series of complexes containing bulky, chelating ancillary ligands accompanying a monodentate nitrite group expected to be capable of nitro – nitrito isomerism. The response of these systems to both thermal- and photoactivation is investigated via single-crystal diffraction methods. The analysis focusses on the potential steric and electronic influences from the surrounding crystalline environment, which may have an impact on the progress of the solid-state reaction. Chapter 6 introduces photocystallographic kinetic methods to investigate the progress of nitro – nitrito conversion in real time. These studies are the first of their kind to be conducted on nitrite linkage isomer species and some novel methodology is introduced. Finally, Chapter 7 discusses pseudo-steady-state and trial time-resolved experiments conducted using the new time-resolved diffraction set-up on Beamline I19 at the Diamond Light Source. These early results indicate the power of time-resolved methods for elucidating key information on the nitro – nitrito conversion process and show promise for future experiments.

While alcohols have successfully undergone kinetic resolutions, amines pose a challenge due to their nucleophilic nature. Aziridines were identified as potential substrates as a result of their synthetic utility and reduced nucleophilicity. Using a helical aminopyridine catalyst, the kinetic resolutions of ketoaziridines were explored. Initial attempts revealed anomalous kinetic behaviour [slow conversion and non-first order]. Non-buffered noncatalytic control reactions demonstrated unexpected reaction dynamics, as gauged by HPLC and 1H NMR. Stopped-flow spectroscopy revealed photochemical sensitivity of the aziridine. As a result of this new information, the project evolved into a study of the photochemical behaviour of ketoaziridines and their spectroscopic properties. UV-vis absorbance and fluorescence spectroscopy were used to probe the photochemical reactivity of ketoaziridines. These studies suggested a two-step mechanism where an azomethine ylide formed a reactive intermediate, ultimately to form 2,5-diphenyloxazole. Kinetic analysis revealed the mechanism was autocatalytic with respect to oxazole formation. TD-DFT calculations suggested the mechanism proceeded via a diradical species upon irradiation. This mechanistic route was studied by investigating the presence of a magnetic field effect on the kinetics of absorption and emission changes, in collaboration with the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology. Further studies demonstrated a radical species, derived from the irradiation of aziridine, may be used as a photoinitiator in the polymerization of methyl methacrylate. This work also involved development of a synthetic platform to diphenyloxazoles, where functionality may be installed in the initial steps. Use of this strategy allowed for the synthesis of a natural product, texaline.

Two different synthetic approaches to the synthesis of pyrano[2,3-c]pyrazoles have been investigated. In one approach, dehydroacetic acid derivatives were treated with phenylhydrazine and methylhydrazine led to the formation of the phenylhydrazones and methylhydrazones, which undergo rearrangement in refluxing acetic acid to diketo-phenylpyrazoles and diketo-methylpyrazoles. Upon treatment with a mixture of acetic and sulfuric acid these compounds isomerize to the phenylpyrano[2,3-c]pyrazol-4-one and methylpyrano[2,3-c]pyrazol-4-one derivatives. In a second approach, phenylhydrazine and methylhydrazine reacted with dimethyl(methoxymethylene)malonate (34) to give phenylpyrazole and methylpyrazole ester derivatives which were converted to phenylpyrazolone and methylpyrazolone by hydrolysis and decarboxylation. C-acylation of these compounds with trans-cinnamoyl chloride gave á,â-unsaturated-4-acetyl-5-hydroxypyrazoles. Bromination of these á,â-unsaturated-4-acetyl-5-hydroxypyrazoles with spontaneous cyclization, followed by dehydrobromination led to pyrano[2,3-c]pyrazol-4-one derivatives, respectively. Phototochemical excitation of 1-phenyl and 1-methylpyrano[2,3-c]pyrazol-4-ones in acetonitrile led to the formation of cis-head-to-tail [2+2] cycloaddition products. Irradiation in ethanol solvent led to photodimerization and to photofragmentation to yield pyrazole ethylesters.

Photochemical transformations give rise to radical intermediates that are enabling tools for constructing molecular scaffolds in alternative methods from traditional two-electron processes. Herein, we detail four discrete projects focused on harnessing photochemically-created radicals for building nitrogen-containing architectures. We first explored a formal [5+2] photochemical cycloaddition of vinyl-pyrrolidinones in order to efficiently reach densely functionalized azepane motifs from simple aldehydes and pyrrolidinones. Second, we describe the discovery and development of a cobalt and photoredox catalyzed hydroaminoalkylation of conjugated dienes to afford functionalized homoallylic amines. Third, we explored the union of metal-nitrene catalysts and photoredox in efforts to forge new aliphatic C-N bonds. Finally, we established a method for the remote functionalization of unactivated sp3 C-H bonds with nickel metallophotoredox, which can be specifically controlled to deliver a new C-C bond at different unactivated methylenes.