C-H bonds are easily the most common type of ordinary chemical bond and studying carbon acidity will help us understand and predict the reactivity of organic compounds. Carbon acidities are ranked using acidity scales. One of the most prominent is the Streitwieser Lithium Indicator (SLI) scale. The term "indicator scale" implies that acids have been measured against one another in sequential fashion. The SLI scale uses lithium ion as the conjugate-base counterion and THF as the solvent. Historically, the SLI scale has emphasized the characterization of weakly-acidic hydrocarbons. Prior to the work of our group, the strongest acid on the SLI scale has a pK value of about 10. Deck and Thornberry extended the scale to ca. pK = 0 by evaluating 23 perfluoroaryl-substituted cyclopentadiene and indene derivatives, using 19F NMR spectroscopy to determine the equilibrium constants of sequential acid-base reactions. This thesis describes the further extension of the SLI scale to ca. pK = −6. To achieve this result, a set of 11 tetrasubstituted cyclopentadienes were synthesized and their acidities evaluated sequentially with the goal of reaching a low pK value while minimizing the acidity ratio at each incremental step. The four ring substituents were combinations of pentafluorophenyl, perfluoro-4-tolyl, and perfluoro-4-pyridyl, electronegative groups listed in order of increasing electron-withdrawing power. The most acidic compound in the set was 1-pentafluorophenyl-2,3,4-tetrakis(tetrafluoro-4-pyridyl)cyclopentadiene, having pK = −5.99. Trends in the acidities of tetraarylcyclopentadienes are discussed including relative electron-withdrawing power of the three selected substituents, and conformational effects among pairs of regioisomeric cyclopentadiene derivatives. / Master of Science / Carbon acidity refers to the willingness of a carbon-hydrogen bond to release a hydrogen ion. C-H bonds are easily the most common type of ordinary chemical bond, so it makes sense that studying carbon acidity will help us understand and predict the reactivity of organic compounds. For the past several decades, emphasis in this area of research has focused on weak carbon acids, especially the simplest hydrocarbons like benzene and methane. This thesis aims in the opposite direction of synthesizing and measuring stronger and stronger carbon acids until we reach the theoretical limit for a given solvent. Because our research strategy is inherently incremental, compounds were synthesized and their acidities were measured, drawing close to the theoretical limit using tetrahydrofuran as the solvent.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) formation and growth from cyclopentadiene (CPD) moieties have been investigated using a laminar flow reactor and molecular modeling. The resonance-stabilized cyclopentadienyl radical is readily formed in flames and can participate in PAH growth to soot by reaction with the ??onds of aromatic species. Both CPD pyrolysis and computational results indicate that formation of indene and benzene is favored at low temperatures (below 750oC) and formation of naphthalene is favored at high temperatures. Reaction pathways from CPD have further been extended to PAH formation from the reaction of CPD and aromatic compounds with different types of ??onds. Results indicate that, while the major products from the pyrolysis of CPD, acenaphthylene, styrene and phenanthrene mixtures are from the reaction of CPD to itself rather than to these aromatic compounds with different ??onds, CPD does add to these compounds to produce larger PAH. Polychlorinated naphthalene (PCN) formation from chlorinated phenols has also been studied. In combustion exhaust gas, chlorinated phenols can produce dioxin as well as PCNs. PCN and polychlorinated dibenzofuran (PCDF) congener product distributions were consistent with proposed pathways involving phenoxy radical coupling at unchlorinated ortho-carbon sites. Tautomerization of the phenoxy radical coupling and subsequent fusion via H2O loss results in PCDF formation. Competing with this reaction pathway, CO elimination and subsequent fusion via hydrogen and/or chlorine loss was found to produce PCNs. PCDF isomer distributions were found to be weakly dependent to temperature, whereas PCN isomer distributions were found to be more temperature sensitive with selectivity to particular isomers decreasing with increasing temperature. Results of this research contribute to a better understanding of chemical mechanisms involved in the formation of toxic byproducts and soot in combustion systems.

This research project is concentrated on tuning the properties of small organic molecules, namely polyacenes, tropones and thiepins, by incorporating redox-active transition metal centers π-bonded to terminal cyclopentadienyl ligands. Organometallic-fused acenequinones, tropones, thiepins and cyclopentadiene-capped polyacenes were synthesized and characterized. This work was divided into three parts: first, the synthesis of ferrocene-fused acenequinones, cyclopentadiene-capped acenequinones and their subsequent aromatization to polyacenes; second, the synthesis of ferrocene-fused tropones, thiotropones and tropone oxime; and third, the synthesis of ferrocene-fused thiepins. Ferrocene-fused quinones are the precursors to our target complexes. Our synthetic route to ferrocenequinones involved two-fold aldol condensation between 1,2-diformylferrocene and naphthalene-1,4-diol or anthracene-1,4-diol, and four-fold condensation between 1,2-diformylferrocene and 1,4-cyclohexanedione. Reduction of ferrocene-fused quinones with borane in THF resulted in ferrocene-fused dihydroacenes. Attempts to reduce ferrocene-fused acenequinones with sodium dithionite led to metal-free cyclopentadiene- (Cp-) capped acenequinones. Cp-capped acenequinones were aromatized to bis(triisopropylsilyl)ethynyl polyacenes by using lithium (triisopropylsilyl)acetylide (TIPSC≡CLi) with subsequent dehydroxylation by stannous chloride. The compounds were characterized by using spectroscopic methods and X-ray crystallography. Further, the electronic properties of these compounds were studied by using cyclic voltammetry and UV-visible spectroscopy. Cyclic voltammetry showed oxidation potentials of Cp-capped TIPS-tetracene and bis-Cp-capped TIPS-anthracene as 0.49 V and 0.61 V, respectively (vs. ferrocene/ferrocenium). The electrochemical band gaps were 2.15 eV and 2.58 eV, respectively. Organic thin-film transistor device performance of Cp-capped polyacenes was studied using solution deposition bottom-contact, bottom-gate (BCBG) device architecture and the resulting performance parameters are described herein. Similarly, we are also interested in potential applications of metallocene-fused tropones and derivatives as organic electronic materials. Condensation of 1,2-diformylferrocene with acetone or 1,3-diphenylacetone in the presence of KOH resulted in the ferrocene-fused tropone (η5-2,4-cyclopentadien-1-yl)[(1,2,3,3a,8a-η)-1,6-dihydro-6-oxo-1-azulenyl]iron (1, R = H, E = O) and its 5,7-diphenyl derivative (1, R = Ph, E = O) as previously reported by Tirouflet. The use of piperidine as base resulted in Michael addition of piperidine to one of the carbon-carbon double bonds of the tropones. Lawesson’s reagent converted the ferrocene-fused tropones to either a thiotropone (1, R = H, E = S) or a detached 5,7-diphenylazulenethiol (2). Reaction of the ferrocene-fused thiotropone with hydroxylamine gave the corresponding oxime (1, R = H, E = NOH). Products were characterized by using spectroscopic methods and X-ray crystallography. Their electronic properties were studied by using cyclic voltammetry and UV-visible spectroscopy. The third project involved the two-fold aldol condensation of 1,2-diformylferrocene with dimethylthioglycolate S-oxide in the presence of freshly distilled triethylamine, which gave mono- and di-dehydrated products. Deoxygenation of the ferrocene-fused thiepin S-oxide with 2-chloro-1,3,2-benzodioxaphosphole in the presence of pyridine resulted in the corresponding thiepin. The ester groups of the thiepin and thiepin S-oxide were hydrolyzed under basic conditions to give carboxylic acids, which were converted into acid chlorides using oxalyl chloride. Attempts to decarboxylate the thiepin and thiepin S-oxide diacids resulted in decomposition.

The reactions of diagonal and lateral Cp'Re(CO)2Br2 (where Cp' = n5-C5H5, n5-C5Me5) and (n5-CgH7)Re(CO)3 with reducing agents have been examined. Hydride reduction at -78 °C is observed to occur at the Cp ring in both CpRe(CO)2Br2 isomers, affording a thermally unstable [(n4 -C5Hg)Re(CO)2Br2]- complex. The product of hydride ring attack has been characterized by low-temperature IR and 1H NMR measurements in addition to 13C NOE and heteronuclear 2D NMR measurements. Reaction of lateral CpRe(CO)2Br2 with either MeLi or PhLi affords both Cp-ring attack and metalhalogen exchange, [CpRe(CO)2Br]- (1) while t-BuLi reacts exclusively via metal-halogen exchange. diag-CpRe(CO)2Br2 reacts with the above lithium reagents to yield the same metal-halogen exchange anion. Analogous reactions using diag- and lat-Cp*Re(CO)2Br2 (where Cp* = n5-CgMe5) afford only the corresponding rhenium metal-halogen exchange anion, [Cp*Re(CO)2Br] (2). The molecular structures of 1-[Li/15-Crown-5] and 2-PPP were established by X-ray crystallography. 1-[Li/15-Crown-5] crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P21 with a = 10.860(4) A, b = 13.116(5) A, c = 7.417(3) A, B = 105.26(3)0, V = 1018.7(3) A3 , and Z = 2. 2-PPP crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Pbca with a = 20.646(5) A, b = 17.690(5) A, c = 17.553(3) A, and z = 8. Solution FT-IR studies of 2 in THF reveal the presence of only solvent-separated ion pairs when the gegencation is Li+, K+, or PPP+ from -70 °C to room temperature. 2-Na at room temperature displays a 39:61 mixture of carbonyl oxygen-sodium and solvent-separated ion pairs, respectively. These ion pairs reveals a reversible temperature-dependent equilibrium. The equilibrium constant has been determined by IR band shape analysis over the temperature range -70 °C to room temperature and values of AH and AS are reported. The reaction of the ring-attacked complex, diag-[(n4-C5H6)Re(CO)2Br2]- with PPh3, P(OPh)3, or Me3CNC leads to the formation of the CpRe(CO)2L. Treatment of [Cp'Re(CO)2Br]- with methyltriflate, TFA, and magic ethyl yields the corresponding diag-Cp'Re(CO)2Br(R) (R = CH3, H, C2H5) complexes based on in situ IR analysis. All of these functionalized complexes decomposed in solution over a period of days to give Cp'Re(CO)3 as the only isolable product (20-30 %). The reaction of the [Cp,Re(C0)2Br]- with Bu3SnH at 60 °C leads to the formation of diag-Cp'Re(CO)2(SnBu3)2, which was also synthesized independently by the deprotonation of diag-Cp'Re(CO)2H2 with Et3N in the presence of Bu3SnBr at room temperature. The reaction of Cp'Re(CO)2Br2 with Bu3SnH at room temperature was discovered to afford the dihydride in excellent yield and, thus represents an improved synthetic route for the synthesis of diag-Cp'Re(CO)2H2. The hydride reduction of (n5-CgH7)Re(CO)3 at room temperature leads to the immediate formation of [(n5-CgH7)Re(CO)2H]- complex, which has been characterized by IR analysis and 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy.

Octafluorobiphenylene-linked bis(cyclopentadienone) was prepared bearing one perfluoro-4-tolyl and one tert-butyl substituent on the terminal diene rings. Polymerizations with 1,4- and 1,3-diethynylbenzene afforded linear Diels-Alder polyphenylenes (DAPPs) having lateral tert-butyl and perfluoro-4-tolyl substituents. The perfluoro-4-tolyl-substituted DAPPs are thermally stable, glassy solids (Tg ~ 230 deg C) that could not be cast into stable films (Mn ~ 10kDa, DPn ~ 10). New compounds perfluoro(1-phenyl-1-octanone) and perfluoro(1,1-diphenyl-1-octanol) were prepared from pentafluorophenylmagnesium bromide and perfluorooctanoyl chloride by nucleophilic acyl substitution and addition reactions. Diels-Alder reactions of 1,2-bis(nonafluorobiphenyl-4-yl)-4-tert-butylcyclopentadiene (CPD-1) with N-(4-fluorophenyl)maleimide (FMI) were explored as models for cyclopentadiene-maleimide-based Diels-Alder polymerizations. Mixtures of five endo/exo adducts were obtained, dependent upon CPD-1 tautomers present at reaction temperatures. The thermodynamic adduct (B3LYP/6-31G* geometry optimizations) was found to be the exo DA adduct of FMI and 2,3-bis(nonafluorobiphenyl-4-yl)-5-tert-butylcyclopentadiene. Five of the six possible isomers were observed and characterized including two by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Parallel reactions of FMI and 1,2-bis(pentafluorophenyl)-4-tert-butylcyclopentadiene yielded three crystallographically characterized isomers, and with 1H NMR and 19F NMR spectrometry, including 1-D NOE, allowed five isomeric products to be identified. Diene CPD-1 is reactive toward nucleophiles (such as potassium 4-methylphenoxide) at the 4-positions of the C12F9 groups. Using this reactivity pattern, CPD-1 was polymerized with bis(phenol) A (BPA) and bis(phenol-A-6F) (BPAF) to form linear poly(arylene ethers) (Mn ~35 kDa) containing backbone cyclopentadienes. These polymers are glassy solids (Tg ~ 220 deg C) with good thermal stability (Td ~ 290 deg C), and they form stable, creaseable films cast from chloroform solutions. Treatment with 1.5-5.0% of 1,6-bis(N-maleimido)dodecane in N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc) at 165 deg C gave insoluble, solvent-swellable networks confirmed using ATR-FTIR. CPD-1 was also used as a cyclopentadiene-based linking group for chain extension of phenol-terminated methyl-PEEK oligomers (PEEKMOHs) with Mn values of 2, 5, and 10 kDa. These polymers are glassy solids (Tg ~ 156 deg C) with good thermal stability (Td ~ 400 deg C), that form stable, creaseable films from chloroform. Segmented polymers were treated with FMI in NMP, and showed functionalization density of approximately 50% by 19F NMR. Segmented polymers were also cross-linked by reaction of 1,6-bis(N-maleimido)hexane (cyclopentadiene to maleimide functional group ratio of 1:1) in NMP at 140 deg C. / Ph. D.

This dissertation describes a general synthetic platform for segmented polymers that have main-chain reversible linkages based on cyclopentadiene-maleimide Diels-Alder chemistry. Research in the area of thermally reversible (self-healing) polymers has been an ever-expanding area of interest in the current scientific literature. However most of the emphasis has been on systems containing furan-maleimide linkages. While inexpensive and synthetically accessible, furan chemistry is mostly limited to crosslinked and hyperbranched architectures due to its relatively weak binding with maleimides at suitable propagation temperatures. Following a general review of the literature in this area (Chapter 1) the first stage of our research (Chapter 2) entails the synthesis of 2-substituted hydroquinones, which are needed as monomers in the later stages. The novelty of our hydroquinone synthesis stems from the use of allylic and other alkenyl ethers as the source of the ring substituent, and from the utilization of catalytic hydroboration to improve atom-efficiency. We showed that hydroquinones with widely varying functionality can be prepared efficiently by our method; these findings were published in the journal Tetrahedron in 2018. The second stage (Chapter 3) involves the use of the new hydroquinones in step-growth syntheses of hydroquinone-terminated telechelic and chain-extension of these telomers via Diels-Alder chemistry to form segmented polymers having thermally reversible linkages. The novelty of our approach rests with the use of cyclopentadiene-maleimide chemistry for the linkages, while the overall physical properties such as the glass transition temperature were established by using well-defined aromatic polymers — poly(ether ether ketones) or PEEK and poly(aryl ether sulfones) or PAES — as segments. This approach represents an important departure from earlier work in our group in which reversible linkages were present in every repeat unit of a step-growth Diels-Alder polymer that showed thermal reversibility in solution but not in the bulk, owing to glass transition temperatures that were too high. Using scratch-healing and mechanical (tensile) tests, we show that our new segmented polymers exhibit self-healing characteristics that are competitive with or superior to previously reported systems based on different Diels-Alder chemistry. The third stage (Chapter 4) aims to explore new application areas for some of the more novel functionalized hydroquinones reported in Chapter 2. First we developed an efficient synthesis of a PAES derivative bearing 5-phenoxypentyl groups on the hydroquinone moiety. Then we showed that the 5-phenoxy group can be cleanly cleaved, post-polymerization, to afford a PAES having 5-bromopentyl substituents. The promise of our method rests with the potential of the pendant electrophiles to undergo reactions with nucleophilic reagents to post-modify these polymers further. As proof of concept, we showed that substitution of the pendant bromides with furfuryloxy groups enabled thermally reversible crosslinking with a bis-maleimide reagent to form a polymeric material that demonstrates partial scratch healing. Finally we are exploring the synthesis of new ion-containing polymers by substituting the pendant bromides with tertiary amines. / PHD / This dissertation describes a new synthetic approach to polymeric materials that can heal themselves (for example, repair small cracks that may have formed due to stress or aging) simply by heating the damaged area. Our approach uses a thermally reversible chemical reaction (called the Diels-Alder reaction) to connect several shorter polymer segments into longer chains. Upon heating, the segments can come apart, diffuse into and through the damaged area, and then rejoin. The first chapter is a review of background in the published literature as well as previous not-yet-published work in our laboratory. The second chapter describes the creation of new building-block molecules (monomers) that will help control the temperature range necessary to induce self-healing after incorporation into the polymer segments. The third chapter details the process of forming the segments, the incorporation of self-healing functionalities on the ends of the segments, the joining of the segments into longer polymeric chains, and the testing of all of the physical properties of these new materials, including their self-healing capabilities. The fourth chapter represents a preliminary study of a new method of preparing ion-containing polymers. The latter materials have potential use in various membrane technologies including fuel cell devices for the harnessing of renewable energy.

This thesis is comprised of two parts. The first part describes the synthesis of cyclopentadienyltungsten complexes containing a pendant alkyne group (I), and the subsequent photo-induced intramolecular coordination of the alkyne, forming complexes such as II. Compounds containing intramolecularly coordinated alkynes are rare, and this is the first example using cyclopentadiene as the core ligand. The second part describes the synthesis and structural characterisation of a number of novel metal complexes containing N-heterocyclic carbene ligands, some containing particular functionality for taylored applications. New methods were used to form complexes of rhodium, iridium, silver and gold (eg. III, IV). Structural and spectroscopic properties of the complexes were correlated with electronic characteristics of the ancillary ligands. A number of rhodium and iridium complexes (eg. IV) derived from imidazolium-linked cyclophanes were synthesised and structurally characterised. Complexes of N-heterocyclic carbenes with pendant ionic groups were synthesised, and a preliminary examination of their catalytic activity in water was performed. N-Heterocyclic carbenes complexes containing an electron withdrawing nitro group were synthesised and the effect of the nitro group on metal-ligand bonding was examined.

No description available.

La plateforme ferrocène est fréquemment utilisée en chimie de coordination et en catalyse pour son excellente résistance aux conditions de réaction poussées. Le squelette ferrocène permet de maîtriser l’agencement de plusieurs groupes fonctionnels d’intérêt. Des ansa-ferrocènes et des ferrocènes à conformation contrainte, permettant par leur structure de contrôler une proximité des groupes fonctionnels, ont été décrits.La première partie de cette thèse traite de la synthèse de cyclopentadiényles borylés disubstitués et de leur réaction d’assemblage pour la formation de métallocènes borylés à conformation contrainte. Des analyses par RMN et des calculs par DFT ont permis de mettre en évidence la diastéréosélectivité inédite de la synthèse.À partir de cette approche, la deuxième partie traite de l’agencement de fonctions acides/bases de Lewis sur une plateforme ferrocénique à conformation contrainte. La synthèse de cyclopentadiényles (P/B) trisubstitués a été initiée. La synthèse de ligands ambiphiles (P/B) par assemblage de cyclopentadiénures et l’influence des tertio-butyles sur leur conformation ont été explorées. Une nouvelle forme de couplage de spin à trois centres sans liaison covalente, impliquant la lacune du bore dans la transmission de spin 31P31P, a été observée en RMN pour un P,P,B-ferrocène très original.La troisième partie traite de la synthèse de ferrocènes (P/B) et (N/B) à conformation contrainte. La voie de synthèse alternative et diastéréosélective proposée s’est révélée efficace alors que le rôle des tertio butyles dans le contrôle conformationnel a été démontré. L’étude de leur réactivité de type paire frustrée de Lewis a été initiée avec le CO2. / Ferrocene platforms are useful in coordination chemistry and catalysis thanks to their robustness and versatile functionalization. Ferrocene backbone allows the implantation of several key functional groups in a restricted space, inducing close proximity and potential polyfunctional cooperation (see for instance ferrocenyl polyphosphine chemistry). Ansa ferrocene and ferrocene bearing conformational control inducing groups maximizing the proximity of key groups have been widely reported.The first part of this thesis focuses on the synthesis of new borylated cyclopentadienyl, and their use in formation of borylated metallocenes bearing conformational constraints. NMR analysis and DFT calculation exhibits the diastereoselectivity of assembly reaction.The second part deals with the arrangement of several Lewis acids and bases on a constraint ferrocene platform. Synthesis of trisubstituted cyclopentadienyl (P/B) has been initiated. Synthesis of ambiphilic ligands (P/B) by assembly reaction of cyclopentadienides and the influence of tert-butyl groups on their conformation have been explored. A new 31P31P spin coupling transmitted “through-space (nonbonded spin-spin coupling transmission) involving for the first time an empty orbital has been observed.The third part describes the synthesis of heteroannular (P/B) and (N/B) ferrocene directly from ferrocene functionalization. An efficient and diastereoselective synthesis has been developed and the influence of tert-butyl groups on the conformational control has been highlighted in both solid and solution state. Studies of the frustrated Lewis pair reactivity of these new ambiphilic ligands have been initiated by addition of CO2.