We report here the development of very efficient aryl- and quinolinyl- sulfonate based leaving groups, termed Nucleophile Assisting Leaving Groups (NALGs), which substantially accelerate the rate of nucleophilic substitution reactions with metal halides. Detailed synthesis and kinetics study are described herein. Our synthesized NALGs have shown great reactivity towards poor nucleophiles and/or substrates traditionally considered too hindered to undergo nucleophilic attack. The abundant existence of halide, azide and amine in natural products demands new synthetic pathway. To fulfill this requirement, new mild stereoretentive halogenations (chlorination, bromination and iodination) reactions have also been developed for secondary cyclic alcohols using NALGs involving titanium (IV) reagents. The novel methodology can be extended to Azidation reactions as well with titanium (IV) azide, in which Ti (N3)4 is the first time being engaged in organic synthesis. Beased on the NALGs theory we discover the chlorosulfite can be a simplest NALG and applied as the intermediate in mild one-pot stereoretentive halogenations (chlorination and bromination) using titanium (IV) halides as catalysts or stoichiometric reagents. These reactions were found to be particularly efficient for cyclic alcohols. Finally, an efficient mild bromination and iodination reaction for primary and secondary alcohols with Grignard reagents is also reported. This reaction exhibits the generality with substrates with various leaving groups. The important features of this reaction are that, for the first time, bromide formation using Grignard reagents without the Cu (I) catalysts. / by Songye Li. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2011. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2011. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

A agroindústria canavieira no Brasil é um setor de destaque por exercer papel fundamental na economia, sendo responsável pela geração de empregos, renda e produtos e subprodutos de interesse como, açúcar, etanol e energia. A clarificação do caldo de cana é um dos processos unitários mais críticos das usinas açucareiras. Atualmente, o açúcar brasileiro é clarificado utilizando-se o processo de contato com dióxido de enxofre, conhecido como sulfitação. Existe, porém, uma tendência mundial na redução do uso de compostos à base de enxofre nos alimentos, devido a possíveis efeitos nocivos à saúde. Além disso, a queima de enxofre elementar nas usinas é fonte de emissões de gases sulforosos, desconforto no ambiente de trabalho das fábricas e corrosão de metais nas instalações industriais. Dessa forma, alternativas à sulfitação têm sido avaliadas, entre as quais a ozonização, processo que carece de estudos fundamentais. No presente trabalho foram avaliados parâmetros de transferência de massa do ozônio, tanto em água como em solução modelo contendo sacarose e compostos fenólicos presentes no caldo de cana (ácidos ácido p-cumárico, cafeico, siríngico e clorogênico, além do flavonoide quercetina). A partir destes experimentos foi verificado que a ozonização da mistura de fenólicos é caracterizada por uma reação lenta devido à presença de ozônio dissolvido no meio. Observou-se que não houve degradação da sacarose e os principais intermediários identificados foram ácidos orgânicos, não ocorrendo, porém, mineralização completa dos compostos fenólicos. Após este estudo foram realizados experimentos de ozonização com caldo de cana seguindo um projeto experimental com o objetivo de verificar a remoção de cor ICUMSA e também de compostos fenólicos. Verificou-se importante remoção de cor (80%) após duas horas de ozonização a 40 oC, empregando-se 30 mg L-1 de ozônio no gás alimentado à vazão de 0,5 L min-1. Por outro lado, obtiveram-se 50% de remoção de compostos fenólicos para concentração de O3 no gás de 20 mg L-1, vazão de gás de 0,5 L min-1 e temperatura de 60 °C. Realizou-se por fim uma análise econômica preliminar para fins de comparação entre o processo de sulfitação e ozonização. O processo de ozonização demanda um investimento inicial maior que a sulfitação e à peroxidação. Quando os custos operacionais são comparados verifica-se que o custo operacional para a ozonização é 29% menor que a sulfitação e 43% menor que a peroxidação. Os resultados sugerem a possível aplicação da ozonização como tecnologia alternativa à utilização de enxofre no processo de clarificação. / The sugarcane agroindustry in Brazil currently stands out because it plays a major role in the economy, being responsible for generating jobs, income and products and by-products of interest, such as sugar, ethanol and power. The clarification of sugarcane juice is one of the most critical unit processes in sugar mills. Brazilian sugar is clarified using the sulphitation process. There is a worldwide trend in reducing the use of sulfur compounds in food because of its possible harmful effects on the consumer. In addition, burning elemental sulfur causes serious environmental problems, such as emissions of sulfurous gases, causing acid rain, discommodity in the working environment of plants and corrosion of metals in industrial facilities. Alternative treatments of sugarcane juice, replacing sulfur dioxide have been considered, among them ozonation. The main limitation of ozonation processes is gas-liquid mass transfer. In the present work, ozone mass transfer parameters were evaluated both in water and in model solutions of sucrose containing phenolic compounds present in the sugarcane juice. The main degradation products formed during the process were identified. From these experiments, ozonation of phenolic compounds in solution is characterized by a slow reaction due to the presence of dissolved ozone in the medium. The main intermediates identified were organic acids demonstrating that complete mineralization of the phenolic compounds does not occur. Ozonation experiments with sugarcane juice were carried out following an experimental design aiming at studying color and phenolic compounds removals. After two-hour experiments 80% color removal was achieved ozone concentration of 30 mg L-1, 0.5 L min-1 flow rate and 40 ° C. Moreover, 50% removal of phenolic compounds was achieved for 20 mg L-1 ozone concentration, 0.5 L min-1 flow rate and 60 ° C. The results confirm the efficiency of color removal, main target of the sugar industry. Finally, a preliminary economic analysis was carried out the purpose of comparing the sulphitation and ozonation process, and it was verified that ozonation requires an initial investment greater than sulphitation. Ozonation process requires an initial investment greater than sulphitation and peroxidation. On the other hand, operating costs were compared, the operating cost for ozonation is 29% lower than sulphitation and 43% lower than peroxidation. Results suggest the possible application of ozonation as an alternative technology to the use of sulfur in the clarification process.

This thesis focuses on the asymmetric reduction of N-protected derivatives of (3S)-3-amino-1-chloro-4-phenyl-2-butanone to their corresponding diastereomeric alcohol products, which are key intermediates in the synthesis of HIV protease inhibitors. Although the stereoselective synthesis of the (S,S) alcohol product is easily achieved, preparing the (R,S) diastereomer is much more challenging. I investigated three diastereoselective reduction processes: 1) Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley (MPV) reduction, 2) asymmetric transfer hydrogenation, and 3) boron reducing agents. The diastereoselectivity of the MPV reduction still favored the (S,S) product; however, I discovered a significant rate enhancement when the standard catalyst (aluminum isopropoxide) was replaced with aluminum tert-butoxide. Many reaction variables were investigated in the asymmetric transfer hydrogenation reaction and the diastereoselectivity was improved to give a ratio of the desired (R,S) diastereomer to the undesired (S,S) alcohol of 9.5:1. Using chiral oxazaborolidine catalysts, an unprecedented (R,S) to (S,S) ratio of 9.5:1 was achieved. Finally, I investigated the effect of the N-protecting group on the stereoselectivity of the reduction. When the original boc-protecting group was replaced with a phthalimide group, the diastereoselectivity of the MPV reduction was reversed to favor the desired (R,S) product.

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Les α-oléfines linéaires sont des intermédiaires particulièrement importants dans l'industrie chimique et pétrochimique. Elles ont des applications variées mais sont utilisées principalement en tant que co-monomère dans la production de diverses qualités de polyéthylène. Dans ce cadre, ce sont les α-oléfines courtes (butène-1, hexène-1 et octène-1) qui sont les plus intéressantes. Aujourd’hui les α-oléfines sont produites très majoritairement par oligomérisation de l’éthylène en catalyse homogène selon deux types de procédés : Les procédés dits « on-purpose » et ceux dits « full-range ». Les procédés « on-purpose » sont sélectifs vis-à-vis d’une α-oléfine et fonctionnent avec des systèmes au chrome ou au titane. Le mécanisme décrit dans ce cas-là est de type métallacyclique. Les procédés « full-range » quant à eux permettent d’obtenir une large distribution d’α-oléfine et les procédés de ce type font intervenir des catalyseurs de nickel, de fer ou de zirconium. Le mécanisme ici est de type polymérisation dégénérée.L’objectif de cette thèse est de développer un système au Ni qui serait actif en oligomérisation de l’éthylène via un mécanisme de type métallacyclique et qui permettrait donc d’atteindre des sélectivités importantes. Dans le mécanisme métallacyclique l’étape clé est le couplage oxydant de deux molécules d’éthylène dans laquelle le degré d’oxydation du métal passe de n à n+2. Dans cette thèse les couples Ni 0/Ni II et Ni I/Ni III ont été considérés. Des précurseurs de Ni0 et NiI possédants des ligands aux propriétés variées ont été synthétisés et testés en réacteur sous forte pression d’éthylène selon différentes méthodes d’activations. Des études mécanistiques ont été réalisées grâce à différentes techniques analytiques à savoir les spectroscopies RMN et RPE, et un développement important a été réalisé en spectrométrie de masse afin de pouvoir observer des intermédiaires réactionnels. La majorité des résultats expérimentaux ont pu être rationnalisés à travers des études théoriques (DFT) permettant de faire émerger des systèmes catalytiques originaux associés à des voies d’accès et des chemins réactionnels différentiant. / Linear α-olefins are very important intermediates in the chemical and petrochemical industries. They have various applications but they are mainly used as co-monomers in the production of various grades of polyethylene. In this topic, the short LAOs (1-butene, 1-hexene and 1-octene) are the most interesting. Today LAOs are almost exclusively produced by ethylene oligomérisation with homogenous catalysts and there are two different industrial processes : “On purpose” and “Full-range” processes. “On purpose” processes are selective toward an α-olefin and catalyst used are based on Ti or Cr complexes. The mechanism described with these types of catalysts is a metallacyclic mechanism. On the other hand ethylene oligomérisation with “full-range” processes is done mainly with Ni or Zr catalysts. In these case a large distribution of olefins is obtained and the mechanism described is a degenerative polymerisation mechanism. The aim of this thesis is to develop a Ni-based system which is active in ethylene oligomérisation through a metallacylcic mechanism in order to access good selectivity toward LAOs. In the metallacyclic mechanism the key step is the oxidative coupling of the two ethylene molecules in which the oxidation state of the metal goes from n to n+2. The couples Ni0/NiII and NiI/NiIII has been investigated in this thesis. Ni 0 and Ni I precursors with various ligands have been synthesized and tested in a semi-batch reactor under high pressure of ethylene with various activation methods. Mechanistic studies have been made using various analytical methods such has NMR and EPR spectroscopies and a big effort has been made in the development of a mass spectrometry method to observe reactive intermediates. In addition, almost all the experimental observations have been rationalized thanks to molecular modeling by DFT.

A key reaction in the troposphere involves the oxidation of biogenic and anthropogenic alkenes with ozone, which contributes to local photochemical smog. It is generally accepted that this reaction proceeds via a reactive intermediate often called the Criegee intermediate (CI). This reaction is known to produce a plethora of oxidised organic compounds, which contribute to ozone formation and secondary organic aerosol production, two of the main characteristics of a polluted atmosphere. Furthermore, epidemiological studies have shown a close correlation between exposure to ambient organic aerosol and adverse human health effects. The toxicological mechanisms leading to this observation are still poorly characterised, although studies suggest that reactive oxygen species present in organic aerosol are a major contributor. Reactive oxygen species and reactive intermediates represent a large uncertainty in tropospheric chemistry, and pose an analytical challenge due to their high reactivity and typically low concentrations. This emphasises the need for the development of new methods to characterise the chemistry of these species. In this thesis, several novel laboratory based techniques have been developed in order to characterise and quantify reactive intermediates and reactive oxygen species. New methods to facilitate the detection of CIs in both the gas and particle phase are presented. Spin trap molecules are used to scavenge CIs to form stable 1:1 adducts which are subsequently detected and quantified using mass spectrometry. The chemistry of CIs with spin traps is extensively investigated. The unique capability of this technique to simultaneously characterise multiple CIs generated from a variety of atmospherically relevant organic precursors in the gas phase is demonstrated. This technique was further developed to facilitate the detection of CIs in secondary organic aerosol, representing the development of a method capable of characterising low volatility CIs and other reactive intermediates in the condensed phase. Furthermore, two new chemical fluorescence assays have been developed to quantify both organic radicals and reactive oxygen species in organic aerosol. A novel profluorescent spin trap assay was applied to quantify radical concentrations in organic aerosol. A series of experiments were then devised to investigate the lifetime of organic radicals in secondary organic aerosol. A second assay, based on physiologically relevant ascorbic acid chemistry, was also developed to measure the concentrations of toxicologically relevant reactive oxygen species in secondary organic aerosol. The quantitative capability of this assay was extensively characterised. The assay was incorporated into a prototype instrument capable of measuring particle-bound reactive oxygen species on-line, and the assays’ sensitivity to secondary organic aerosol was demonstrated.

Accurate measurements of ammonia, nitric acid and formic acid are important for achieving a complete understanding of their atmospheric role. Models and measurements of formic acid in the atmosphere continue to show disagreements. Also, the contributions of NMHCs and reactive nitrogen (HNO3 and NH3) to organic and inorganic aerosol formation are important to quantify as gaps in the knowledge of atmospheric aerosols are a source of uncertainty in climate science. In this thesis, concentrations of ammonia were measured in the atmosphere and the production of formic acid from the ozonolysis of isoprene was measured in the EXTRA (EXTreme RAnge) chamber. Both gases were studied using chemical ionisation mass spectrometry (CIMS). The kinetics of the reactions of sesquiterpenes and terminal alkenes with ozone were studied in theEXTRA chamber using the relative rates technique and GC-FID. The ozonolysis rate coefficients of a homologous series of terminal alkenes were measured at elevated temperatures and found to be invariant with the carbon number. This led to the conclusion that previous measurements of these rate coefficients were subject to experimental artefacts. The elevated temperature protocol was employed to study the ozonolysis of sesquiterpenes, leading to revisions in ko3 for β-caryophyllene and α-humulene of 3 orders of magnitude. It was thus concluded that ozonolysis only accounts for 9-15% of sesquiterpeneoxidation in the atmosphere. A field intercomparison of CIMS for measuring ammonia was conducted wherein CIMS was found to perform well alongside instruments of comparable time response and limits of detection. This thesis also characterised inlet materials used in atmospheric measurements in the first systematic study on the uptake onto inlet walls in a flow tube system coupled to CIMS. It was found that PFA is the preferable material for atmospheric measurements, both for its kinetic qualities and its ready availability and ease of use. Finally, CIMS was used to measure the yield of formic acid from isoprene ozonolysis as a function of relative humidity. Formic acid yield was found to increase between 0-40% RH to a maximum of 0.18. Using the measured formic acid yields in a global chemistry model leads to an estimate that formic acid production from isoprene ozonolysis is ~9.5 Tg yr-1.

Gold catalysis has recently experienced a sustained upswing in interest from scientific community. The amount of new reactions catalysed by gold is so significant that little is known about mechanisms of most of these reactions. Research into mechanisms of (not only) gold catalysed reactions is therefore very significant area of interest and important to the continued improvement of gold catalysed reactions. Formation of cationic π-complexes is considered a first mechanistic step in reactions catalysed by gold(I). The bond dissociation energies of gas phase cationic π-complexes were investigated by mass spectrometry and theory calculations in this thesis. These complexes consisted of differently substituted unsaturated hydrocarbons (alkenes, alkynes, alkadienes and allenes) and complex cations of silver and gold containing second ligand (triphenylphosphine, acetonitrile). On the basis of the results obtained from this study, a possible origin of the "silver effect" in gold(I) catalysis is discussed. Key words catalysis, gold, silver, mass spectrometry, DFT calculations, reaction intermediates