A one-pot synthesis of ortho-arylated 9-(pyridin-2-yl)-9H-carbazoles via C-H bond activation, in which palladium(II)-catalyzed cross-coupling of 9-(pyridin-2-yl)-9H-carbazoles with potassium aryltrifluoroborates is presented. Silver nitrate and tert-butanol were proved to be the best oxidant and solvent for the process, respectively. The product yields fluctuated from modest to excellent, and the reaction showed sufficient functional group tolerance. p-Benzoquinone served as an important ligand for the transmetalation and reductive elimination steps in the catalytic process. The key intermediate of the reaction, 9-(pyridin-2-yl)-9H-carbazole palladacycle was isolated and confirmed by X-ray crystallography. The kinetic isotope effect (kH/kD) for the C-H bond activation step was measured as 0.87. In addition, Hammett experiment gave a negative rho value, -2.14 with a reasonable correlation (R2 = 0.90). The directing group, pyridyl was demonstrated as a removable functional group. Finally, a rational catalytic mechanism is presented based on all experimental evidence.

This thesis is focused on the development of new palladium and copper- mediated reactions for functionalization of alkenes and propargylic alcohol derivatives. The synthetic utility of the 1,2-diborylated butadienes synthesized in one of these processes has also been demonstrated. We have developed an efficient procedure for the synthesis of allenyl boronates from propargylic carbonates and acetates. This was achieved by using a bimetallic system of palladium and copper or silver as co-catalyst. The reactions were performed under mild conditions for the synthesis of a variety of allenyl boronates. Furthermore, the synthesis of 1,2-diborylated butadienes was achieved with high diastereoselectivity from propargylic epoxides. The reactivity of the 1,2-diborylated butadienes with aldehydes was studied. It was found that the initial allylboration reaction proceeds via an allenylboronate intermediate. The allenylboronate reacts readily with an additional aldehyde to construct 2-ethynylbutane-1,4-diols with moderate to high diastereoselectivity. We have also studied the copper-mediated trifluoromethylation of propargylic halides and trifluoroacetates. It was also shown that a transfer of chirality occurred when an enantioenriched starting material was used. In the last part of the thesis, we have described a method for palladium-catalyzed functionalization of allylic C-H bonds for the selective synthesis of allylic silanes. The protocol only works under highly oxidative conditions which suggest a mechanism involving high oxidation state palladium intermediates. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following paper was unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 1: Accepted.</p>

This thesis is focused on two main areas of organic synthesis, palladium-catalyzed functionalization of alkenes and allylic alcohols, as well as development of new allylboration reactions. We have developed a palladium-catalyzed selective allylic trifluoroacetoxylation reaction based on C−H functionalization. Allylic trifluoroacetates were synthesized from functionalized olefins under oxidative conditions. The reactions proceed under mild conditions with a high level of diastereoselectivity. Mechanistic studies of the allylic C−H trifluoroacetoxylation indicate that the reaction proceeds via (η3-allyl)palladium(IV) intermediate. Palladium-catalyzed regio- and stereoselective synthesis of allylboronic acids from allylic alcohols has been demonstrated. Diboronic acid B2(OH)4 was used as the boron source in this process. The reactivity of the allylboronic acids were studied in three types of allylboration reactions: allylboration of ketones, imines and acyl hydrazones. All three processes are conducted under mild conditions without any additives. The reactions proceeded with remarkably high regio- and stereoselectivity. An asymmetric version of the allylboration of ketones was also developed. In this process chiral BINOL derivatives were used as catalysts. The reaction using γ-disubstituted allylboronic acids and various aromatic and aliphatic ketones afforded homoallylic alcohols bearing two adjacent quaternary stereocenters with excellent regio-, diastereo- and enantioselectivity (up to 97:3 er) in high yield. The stereoselectivity in the allylboration reactions could be rationalized on the basis of the Zimmerman-Traxler TS model.

Due to the prevalence of porphyrins and their derivatives in Nature, there is a wide interest in the synthesis, design and exploitation of their properties. Their electron delocalisation, and the ease with which the electronic system can be perturbed and manipulated, have meant that porphyrins have been investigated for applications in many avenues. Conjugated, multiporphyrin oligomers have been studied as light-harvesting system mimics, molecular wires and sensors. It has been predicted that the azo-linkage should enable superior porphyrin-to-porphyrin interaction. Preparation of an azo-linked bis(porphyrin) was approached by reacting protected hydrazines with bromoporphyrins. A series of mono- and bis-substituted porphyrinoids including novel diiminoporphodimethenes was synthesised using palladium-catalysed reactions, and spectroscopic, structural and redox properties of these products were investigated. The manner in which a bis-substituted product evolved from a mono-activated starting material was studied. The synthesis of these products was refined to produce each product selectively. These products display interesting redox properties, and several of them exhibit greatly red-shifted absorption spectra. The palladium-catalysed synthesis of primary and secondary aminoporphyrins, as well as a hydroxyporphyrin, from the reaction of bromoporphyrins with unsubstituted hydrazine was discovered and investigated. The synthesis of these products was optimised to yield each novel porphyrinoid selectively. Some of the electronic and structural properties of these products were studied, and the unique bis(porphyrin)secondary amine exhibited excitonic coupling between the macrocycles. A porphyrin dyad with an azo-linkage was isolated, and its synthesis was optimised, initially using palladium-catalysed homocoupling of aminoporphyrins, and then using copper catalysis. The synthesis of this "azoporphyrin" was optimised to obtain the desired dimers in high yields and the properties of these dimers were studied and contrasted with those of other conjugated porphyrin dimers. The absorption spectra exhibited greatly split Soret bands and intense, red-shifted Q-bands, while cyclic voltammetry showed a decrease in the HOMO-LUMO gap, indicative of extremely efficient porphyrin-porphyrin interaction. Two crystal structures of azoporphyrins were obtained, and the dihedral angle and the distance between the mean planes of the macrocycles were also significantly smaller than those found for the analogous (E)-ethene-linked dimers. A series of novel "head-to-tail" porphyrin dyads was also isolated and characterised, and these exhibited interesting spectral features, including very broad and red-shifted Q-bands and split Soret bands in their absorption spectra.

Durant toute ma période de doctorat, passé en co-tutelle entre l'Università degli Studi dell'Insubria et l'UPMC de Paris, j'ai dirigé mes efforts vers l'étude de la formation des liaisons C-O et C-N par de nouvelles réactions catalysées par des métaux de transition.En poursuivant notre projet en cours sur les réactions d'amination et d'alcoxylation catalysées par des métaux de transition intra- et intermoléculaires impliquant la fonctionnalisation C-H, nous avons essayé de réaliser deux procédures d'alcoxylation intramoléculaire de liaisons multiples carbone-carbone pour obtenir des hétérocycles oxygénés et une amination allylique oxydante intermoléculaire pour réaliser des scaffolds azotés.Effectuées au niveau intramoléculaire, les réactions catalysées par des métaux de transition offrent une stratégie polyvalente pour obtenir des molécules cycliques, difficilement obtenues par des méthodes de synthèse conventionnelles et à partir de matériaux de départ facilement disponibles, et représentent l'une des méthodologies clés pour le progrès de la chimie verte et durable.En ce qui concerne les protocoles d'alcoxylation, deux lignées de recherche différentes basées sur la catalyse des métaux de transition appliqués aux réactions de domino ont été étudiées.Les processus domino sont des outils efficaces pour augmenter rapidement la complexité moléculaire par la formation de plus d'une liaison en une seule étape, en respectant la règle de l'économie. Bien que l'approche domino impliquant des alcènes et des allènes soit bien étudiée, des exemples impliquant des alcynes sont quelque peu limités dans la littérature. / During the whole period of my PhD, spent in co-tutorship between Università degli Studi dell’Insubria and UPMC in Paris, I have directed my efforts towards the study of C-O and C-N bonds formation by new transition metal-catalyzed reactions.Pursuing our ongoing project on intra- and intermolecular transition metal-catalyzed amination and alkoxylation reactions involving C-H functionalization, we tried to perform two intramolecular alkoxylation procedures of carbon-carbon multiple bonds to obtain oxygenated heterocycles and one intermolecular oxidative allylic amination to accomplish nitrogen-based scaffolds.Performed at intramolecular level, transition metal-catalyzed reactions offer a versatile strategy to obtain cyclic molecules, not easily obtainable by conventional synthetic methods and starting from readily available starting materials, and represent one of the key methodologies for the progress of green and sustainable chemistry. Dealing with alkoxylation protocols, two different research lines based on transition metal catalysis applied to domino reactions were investigated. Domino processes are efficient tools to rapidly increase the molecular complexity through the formation of more than one bond in a single step, respecting the rule of step economy. While the domino approach involving alkenes and allenes is well investigated, examples involving alkynes are somewhat limited in the literature.

This thesis describes the efforts towards the synthesis of the guaiane-6,12-olide skeleton, which characterises the guaianolide family of bioactive natural compounds. Two approaches have been investigated: the intramolecular hetero Diels Alder (IMHDA) reaction and the intramolecular carbonyl ene reaction. This thesis has been divided in three sections: the first part gives a general background about the guaianolides, the second section describes the synthetic approaches we investigated and, finally, the third section reports the experimental details. The first section gives a brief overview about the biosynthesis, the biological activities of the guaianolides, and the most interesting synthetic approaches to obtain them. The second section describes the two different approaches we investigated and gives a theoretical background about the main chemical transformations used. At first, the IMHDA reaction approach is described: a brief overview of palladium catalysis and Diels Alder reaction is given, and it is followed by the results and discussion of our study. Similarly, a theoretical background of the Alder ene reaction is given, before the results and discussion of the intramolecular carbonyl ene reaction approach are described: particular importance is given to the reasoning that led to the assignment of the relative configuration of the cycloadducts obtained, and to the rationalisation of this stereochemical outcome. Finally, the third section gives a complete description of the experimental procedures followed, and of the experimental data for the synthetic studies performed in the previous chapter.

Palladium-catalyzed reactions for carbon-carbon bond formation have had a significant impact on the field of organic chemistry in recent decades. Illustrative is the 2010 Nobel Prize, awarded for “palladium-catalyzed cross couplings in organic synthesis”, and the numerous applications of these transformations in industrial settings. This thesis describes recent developments in C(sp2)-C(sp3) bond formation, focusing on alkane arylation reactions and arylative dearomatization transformations. In the first part, our contributions to the development of intramolecular C(sp3)-H arylation reactions from aryl chlorides are described (Chapter 2). The use of catalytic quantities of pivalic acid was found to be crucial to observe the desired reactivity. The reactions are highly chemoselective for arylation at primary aliphatic C-H bonds. Theoretical calculations revealed that C-H bond cleavage is facilitated by the formation of an agostic interaction between the palladium centre and a geminal C-H bond. In the following section, the development of an alkane arylation reaction adjacent to amides and sulfonamides is presented (Chapter 3). The mechanism of C(sp3)-H bond cleavage in alkane arylation reactions is also addressed through an in-depth experimental and theoretical mechanistic study. The isolation and characterization of an intermediate in the catalytic cycle, the evaluation of the roles of both carbonate and pivalate bases in reaction mechanism as well as kinetic studies are reported. Our serendipitous discovery of an arylation reaction at cyclopropane methylene C-H bonds is discussed in Chapter 4. Reaction conditions for the conversion of cyclopropylanilines to quinolines/tetrahydroquinolines via one-pot palladium(0)-catalyzed C(sp3)-H arylation with subsequent oxidation/reduction are described. Initial studies are also presented, which suggest that this transformation is mechanistically unique from other Pd catalyzed cyclopropane ring-opening reactions. Preliminary investigations towards the development of an asymmetric alkane arylation reaction are highlighted in Chapter 5. Both chiral carboxylic acid additives and phosphine ligands have been examined in this context. While high yields and enantiomeric excesses were never observed, encouraging results have been obtained and are supported by recent reports from other research groups. Finally, in part two, the use of Pd(0)-catalysis for the intramolecular arylative dearomatization of phenols is presented (Chapter 7). These reactions generate spirocyclohexadienones bearing all-carbon quaternary centres in good to excellent yields. The nature of the base, although not well understood, appears to be crucial for this transformation. Preliminary results in the development of an enantioselective variant of this transformation demonstrate the influence of catalyst activation on levels of enantiomeric excess.

With a few exceptions, all organisms are restricted to the 20 canonical amino acids for ribosomal protein biosynthesis. Addition of new amino acids to the genetic code can introduce novel functionalities to proteins, broadening the diversity of biochemical as well as chemical reactions and providing new tools to study protein structure, reactivity, dynamics and protein-protein-interactions. The site directed in vivo incorporation developed by P. G. SCHULTZ and coworkers, using an archeal orthogonal tRNA/aaRS (aminoacyl-tRNA synthase) pair, allows site-specifically insertion of a synthetic unnatural amino acid (UAA) by reprogramming the amber TAG stop codon. A variety of over 80 different UAAs can be introduced by this technique. However by now a very limited number can form kinetically stable bonds to late transition metals. This thesis aims to develop new catalytically active unnatural amino acids or strategies for a posttranslational modification of site-specific amino acids in order to achieve highly enantioselective metallorganic enzyme hybrids (MOEH). As a requirement a stable protein host has to be established, surviving the conditions for incorporation, posttranslational modification and the final catalytic reactions. mTFP* a fluorescent protein was genetically modified by excluding any exposed Cys, His and Met forming a variant mTFP*, which fulfills the required specifications. Posttranslational chemical modification of mTFP* allow the introduction of single site metal chelating moieties. For modification on exposed cysteines different maleiimid containing ligand structures were synthesized. In order to perform copper catalyzed click reactions, suitable unnatural amino acids (para-azido-(L)-phenylalanine, para-ethynyl-(L)-phenylalanine) were synthesized and a non-cytotoxic protocol was established. The triazole ring formed during this reaction may contribute as a moderate σ-donor/π-acceptor ligand to the metal binding site. Since the cell limits the incorporation of boronic acids, an aqueous protocol for Miyaura borylation using a highly active palladacycle catalyst was established and can be transferred to a selective borylation of proteins. It allows subsequent Suzuki cross coupling and therefore broadens the possibilities for chemical modifications and the establishment of new metalloenzymes. Different metal chelating amino acids were investigated, such as Hydrochinolin-Alanine, Bipyridyl-Alanine, Dipyridine-Lysines and phosphorous containing amino acids.

La catalyse par les métaux de transition a pris une ampleur considérable depuis quelques décennies et est devenue un outil puissant en chimie organométallique. La réaction de CH ortho fonctionnalisation, impliquant une catalyse duale palladium/norbornène, découverte à la fin des années 90, a permis une grande avancée dans le domaine des réactions multi-composantes. Elle permet d’accéder à des structures polycycliques via un mécanisme original, impliquant la formation d’un palladacycle. Elle constitue également la première réaction catalytique incluant trois états d’oxydation du palladium (0, II et IV). Dans un contexte où la chimie tend à être plus éco-compatible, nous souhaitions tirer avantage de cette réaction pour la synthèse de dibenzoazépines. Ils représentent en effet d’intéressants motifs utilisés aussi bien en organocatalyse que comme composés bioactifs, cependant les synthèses existant à ce jour ne permettent pas de diversifier la structure de ces molécules et requièrent souvent des séquences multiples étapes ou des réactifs toxiques. La synthèse de dibenzoazépines a ainsi été réalisée selon une approche à trois composants incluant une bromobenzylamine, un iodure aromatique ortho substitué et une oléfine portant un groupement électro-attracteur via une séquence de CH ortho fonctionnalisation/Heck/aza-Michael. Remarquablement, cette dernière étape présente une diastéréosélectivité totale. L’emploi de bromobenzylamine substituée racémique montre la même sélectivité grâce à un dédoublement cinétique. L’accès à un large panel de molécules, ainsi qu’aux imines correspondantes via un mécanisme de rétro-Mannich par l’emploi d’une oléfine énolisable, démontre la robustesse de la réaction d’ortho CH-fonctionnalisation. La formation de liaison carbone-carbone par les métaux de transition a été largement développée depuis quelques décennies. Cependant elle génère souvent des déchets et l’utilisation de réactifs toxiques à haute température. La catalyse photorédox connaît un vif intérêt depuis peu et a l’avantage d’utiliser la lumière comme source d’énergie couplé à une faible quantité catalytique de métal ou d’organocatalyseur. Nous avons ainsi développé une méthode de couplage biaryalique via une catalyse photorédox médiée par un complexe de ruthénium. Les précurseurs à coupler que sont les arènes diazoniums ont l’avantage de ne générer comme déchets que du diazote, et réalise une réaction de substitution homolytique aromatique sur des accepteurs aromatiques ou hétéroaromatiques. De plus elle se déroule à température ambiante en l’absence de base. Elle constitue donc une alternative pour le couplage biarylique en une chimie éco-compatible. / Catalysis by transition metal has considerably grown these decades and has become a powerful tool in organometallic chemistry. The CH ortho fonctionnalisation reaction, involving a duale palladium/norbornene catalysis, discovered at the end of the 90’s, allowed a breakthrough in the field of multi-component reactions. It provides access to polycyclic structures through an original mechanism, involving a palladacycle formation. It is the first catalytic reaction including three oxidation states of palladium (0, II and IV). In a context where the chemistry is going to be more ecocompatible, we wished taking advantage of this reaction to synthetize dibenzoazepines. They represent interesting scaffold both as organocatalysts and as bioactive compounds, however the existing synthesis don’t allow diversifying the structure of these molecules and often requiring multi-step sequences or toxic reagents. Dibenzoazepines synthesis has been realised according a three components approach from readily available reagents, a bromobenzylamine, an ortho substituted aromatic iodide and an electrowithdrawing olefin via a CH ortho fonctionnlisation/Heck/aza-Michael sequence. Remarquably, this last step presents a total diastereoselectivity. Using racemic substituted bromobenzylamine shows the same selectivity thanks to a parallel kinetic resolution-like mechanism. The access to a wide range of molecules, and the corresponding imine via a retro-Mannich mechanism using an enolisable olefin demonstrates the robustness of the ortho CH fonctionnalisation reaction.  Carbon-carbon bond formation by transition metal has been largely developped since decades. However, it often generate waste and use toxic reagent at high temperature. Photoredox catalysis is a great success recently and have the advantage to use light as energy source and small amounts of metal and organocatalyst. We have developed a method of biarylic coupling via a photoredox catalysis mediated by a ruthenium complex. Arene diazonium, the precursor coupled, have the advantage to generate diazote as waste, and realise an homolytic aromatic substitution on aromatic and heteroaromatic acceptors. Moreover, it takes place at room temperature without base. It is an alternative for the biarylic coupling and an green chemistry.

The essential questions of the dissertation research described here address concepts in homogeneous catalysis and organometallic chemistry, with a focus on method development for catalytic reaction applications in organic synthesis. The unifying theme throughout the research is the development of rational design principles for cooperative catalysis through both mechanistic and empirical study. Cooperative catalysis – in which multiple catalysts enable increased activity or selectivity versus a single catalyst system – can involve some combination of a transition metal, Lewis acid, and Brønsted acid. Chapter 1 reviews the literature regarding the cooperativity of transition metal and Lewis acid catalysis, and discusses four main areas in organic synthesis and the facilitation of these trnasformations by Lewis acids: (a) C-C bond and C-H activation, (b) hydrogenolysis of carboxylic acid derivates and ethers, (c) Au catalyzed alkyne activation and cyclization reactions, and related reactions, and (d) Pd catalyzed C-C and C-N bond forming reactions. These different topics are selected based on the mechanistic insight provided into the nature of transition metal-Lewis acid cooperativity. Chapter 2 describes the observation of Lewis acid acceleration of a Pd catalyzed C-N bond coupling. The synthetic methodology is elaborated using metal triflates as cocatalysts, and Lewis acid acceleration is observed for a variety of different N-nucleophiles. Qualitative mechanistic study implicates the role of halide anions in inhibiting this catalytic reaction, and it is proposed that metal triflates are competent to accelerate catalysis by binding halide anions, and therefore attenuating halide inhibition. This hypothesis is supported by initial rate measurements and 31P NMR experiments. Rationalizing trends observed in the reactivity of Lewis acids in the cooperative reactions described in Chapters 1 and 2 is challenging. Therefore, our goal was to provide further insight into the behavior or Lewis acids in complex reaction settings. Inspired by 31P NMR experiments from Chapter 2, a next generation NMR probe to observe anion exchange reactions of metal triflate Lewis acids is developed. Metal-ligand titrations are performed for a variety of metal triflates with complexes of the type (POCOP)Pd(X) (X = Cl, Br, I, OAc) to observe a variety of different X anion affinities for metal triflates. The determined parameters are discussed within the context of Lewis acid catalyzed reactions, along with other Lewis acidity parameters, such as hydrolysis constants and effective charge density. The data suggest that the chloride and iodide anion affinities of a Lewis acid represent a continuum of π-acidity (high anion affinity) and propensity to dissociate into cationic Mz+ species (low anion affinity). The anion affinities do not correlate with the tendency of a metal salt to release Brønsted acids or their respective effective charge densities. Based on the insight into Lewis acidity from Chapters 1 and 3, the parallel between Brønsted and Lewis acids is realized, and the role of both Brønsted and Lewis acids in mediating organic reactions is often related. In Chapter 4, further questions into the cooperativity of π-acids and Brønsted acids is explored. It is demonstrated that selectivity of alkene isomerization can be controlled through a cooperative system. A series of Mo(0) complexes are prepared and explored in their ability to mediate the conversion of terminal alkenes to internal alkenes, and the reaction is found to be promoted by Brønsted acid (TsOH) cocatalyst. Rational design principles are developed to maximize selectivity for (Z)-2-alkenes in this catalyst system. It is proposed that TsOH acts to generate a catalytic MoH species which mediates catalysis, and the role of phosphine ligands is critical in inhibiting the formation of less selective isomerization catalysts. Chapter 5 and 6 entail further method development for catalytic reactions based on the mechanistic wisdom described in previous chapters. High throughput experimentation is employed to rapidly assess conceptual aspects of Pd catalysis, such as ligand and additive effects, and facilitate catalyst discovery and optimization. Based on the substrate scope performed in Chapter 2, it was realized there is a knowledge gap in the ability to synthesize tertiary sulfonamides, both in terms of conventional methods, or modern Pd-catalyzed methods. A significant advance in organic reaction methodology is described: a new Pd catalyst featuring the AdBippyPhos ligand is discovered to be apt for the coupling of secondary sulfonamides with heteroaryl halides to yield tertiary N-heteroarylhalides. Using high throughput experimentation, 24 diverse heterocycles are screened with 12 sulfonamide variants to prepare &gt;100 new products on microscale. Computational modelling reveals the unique steric parameters of the AdBippyPhos ligand, and a mechanistic rationale for its success in catalysis is provided. Lastly, Chapter 6 describes the use of a LiOTf additive to control the selectivity of Pd-catalyzed C-C bond forming reactions. In the presence of LiOTf, a Mizoroki-Heck type reaction, the alkenylation of an aryl halide with a vinyl ether, proceeds with regioselectivity. In the absence of LiOTf, a solvent (CH3CN) activation pathway proceeds to give benzyl nitrile products. High throughput microscale reactions discovered that the Pd/xantphos catalyst is uniquely selective to provide branched styrenes when using the Cs2CO3/CH3CN base/solvent combination. However, reaction performance differed on large scale reactions, where LiOTf was necessary to observe the Mizoroki-Heck reaction pathway. Mechanistic study, in the form of kinetic experiments and 31P NMR experiments, focused on the role of LiOTf in affecting chemoselectivity. It is proposed that xantphos oxidation is responsible for mediating the Mizoroki-Heck reaction pathway, whereas in the absence of xantphos oxidation, CH3CN α-arylation ensues. Due to the insoluble nature of the catalyst materials, xantphos oxidation is ordinarily slow under anaerobic conditions due to mass transfer limitation. LiOTf generates a soluble [(xantphos)Pd(NCCH3)2][OTf]2 and potentially mediates the formation of xantphos-monoxide catalyst which is competent for alkenylation. / Chemistry