Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

The epoxide deoxygenation reaction is formally the reverse of the epoxidation reaction. Compared to epoxidation, which has reached its full maturity, epoxide deoxygenation has not been as intensively developed. Among the few deoxygenation reagents, a handful are catalytic in a metal complex, show high stereospecificity and operate under mild conditions. A common feature of all present deoxygenation reagents is that they do not perform asymmetric deoxygenation of racemic epoxides. Rhenium (VII) trioxo complexes are emerging as pliable catalysts for epoxide deoxygenation. Designing a chiral rhenium (VII) trioxo complex was our goal. Guided by the mechanism of rhenium (VII) trioxo catalyzed epoxide deoxygenation and the mechanism of the stereogenic information transfer, we have designed and prepared a chiral rhenium(VII) trioxo complex. This complex is void of stereogenic centers and the source of asymmetry is the restricted rotation around a carbon-carbon bond. Detailed conformational analysis of the new chiral complex was done by extensive NMR measurements and molecular modeling. The rotation barrier for the diolate was experimentally and computationally estimated to be 9.72 kcal/mol and 8.06 kcal/mol, respectively. Unsuccessful attempts were made to prepare a camphor based scorpionate because of the extreme steric congestion. A menthone based scorpionate was successfully prepared. The related rhenium (TII) trioxo complex with this scorpionate revealed contradicting chemical and spectroscopic features. / Graduation date: 2005

Graduation date: 2002

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Dept. of Chemistry, June 1999. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- McMaster University, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 325-336). Also available via World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--McMaster University (Canada), 1995. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 56-12, Section: B, page: 6741. Adviser: C. J. L. Lock.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 304-323). Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 216-222).

In 1896, Becquerel discovered the natural radioactivity in potassium uranyl sulphate. Since then, Pierre and Marie Curie, E. Rutherford and F. Soddy all made tremendous contributions to the discovery of many other radioactive elements. The work of all these scientists has shown that all elements found in nature with an atomic number greater than 83 (bismuth) are radioactive. Artificial radioactivity was first reported by I. Curie and F. Joliot in 1934. These scientists irradiated boron and aluminium targets with a particles from polonium and observed positrons emitted from the target even after removal of the a particle source. This discovery of induced or artificial radioactivity opened up a brand new field of tremendous importance. Around the same time, the discovery of the cyclotron, deuteron and neutron by various scientists facilitated the discovery of many more artificial radioactivities. At present time more than 2700 radionuclides have been produced artificially in the cyclotron, the nuclear reactor, the neutron generator and linear accelerator. Radiopharmaceuticals are drugs that contain a radionuclide and are used for imaging if the radionuclide is a photon emitter (gamma-g or positron-b+) or for therapy if the radionuclide is a particle emitter (alpha-a or beta-b- or Auger/conversion e-). / Prof. A. Roodt

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1997. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [158]-172).