The first chapter of this thesis represents the continued development of a general method for the formation of benzo-fused N-heterocycles by formal radical cyclization onto benzene rings. Important stages in this process involve 1) the copper-mediated coupling of various amino alcohols to protected p-iodophenols, 2) carbamate-protection of the resulting aryl secondary amine to allow the following oxidation step, 3) the oxidative formation of quinone ketals as radical acceptors, 4) the radical cyclization of pendant iodo-radical triggers onto the cross-conjugated ketone, and 5) the subsequent aromatization of the resulting products into benzo-fused N-heterocycles. Various protected 2,3-dihydroindolessome of which with 2-substitutionshave been synthesized using this methodology. For some examples, it was necessary to repeat the experiments of a previous group member to obtain publication-quality data. The second chapter describes a new methodology for the formation of regioselectively-substituted benzene rings. Various arene species have been synthesized in p-disubstituted, 1,2,4-trisubstituted and 1,2,3,4-tetrasubstituted arrays. Key steps in the methodology include 1) the synthesis of 1,4-diketones by alkylation of various aldehydes and their subsequent reduction and oxidation, 2) addition of organometallic alkenes to 1,4-diketones to form ring closing metathesis (RCM) precursors, and 3) RCM and subsequent aromatization of these cyclized products by double-dehydration to form the desired substituted benzenes. The macrocycle [12]-paracyclophane has also been synthesized using a modified version of the above methodology.

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