<p> It had been proposed that α-hydroperoxydiazenes decompose by the radical chain abstraction of the hydroxy group. This suggested that these compounds could be used as hydroxyalkylating agents for unsaturated systems. </p> <p> Compounds 15 and 23 were prepared by the autoxidation of the corresponding hydrazone. α-Hydroperoxydiazenes 15 and 23 were used to hydroxyalkylate ethyl vinyl ether and 2-methoxypropene in yields of 62-65%. Mechanisms of the addition reaction are discussed. </p> <p> In an attempt to alkylate a hetero atom system, ·compound 15 was thermolyzed with compound 25. The alkylation product was not obtained. </p> <P> Compound 15 was converted to α-hydroxydiazene 34 by the action of Φ3P. α-Hydroxydiazine have been used synthetically in the hydroalkylation of alkenes. The rate constant of hydrogen abstraction was determined to be in the range of 1.5 x 10^5 M^-ls^-l to 1.5 x 10^7 M^-ls^-l by the use of a radical clock reaction. An upper limit on the rate of rearrangement of the 2-cyanopropyl radical was found to be 3.65 x 10^3 s^-1 . </p> A new compound (23) was prepared / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

The development of ligands derived from natural amino acids for asymmetric transfer hydrogenation (ATH) of prochiral ketones is described herein. In the first part, reductions performed in alcoholic media are examined, where it is found that amino acid-derived hydroxamic acids and thioamides, respectively, are simple and versatile ligands that in combination with [RhCp*Cl2]2 efficiently catalyze this particular transformation. Selectivities up to 97% ee of the corresponding secondary alcohols are obtained, and it is furthermore observed that the two different ligand classes, albeit based on the same amino acid scaffold, give rise to products of opposite configuration. The highly interesting enantioswitchable nature of the two abovementioned catalysts is studied in detail by mechanistic investigations. A structure/activity correlation analysis is performed, which reveals that the diverse behavior of the catalysts arise from different interactions between the ligands and the metal. Kinetic studies furthermore stress the catalyst divergence, since a difference in the rate determining step is established from initial rate measurements. In addition, rate constants are determined for each step of the overall reduction process. In the last part, catalyst development for ATH executed in water is discussed. The applicability of hydroxamic acid ligands is further extended, and catalysts based on these compounds are found to be efficient and compatible with aqueous conditions. The structurally even simpler amino acid amide is also evaluated as a ligand, and selectivities up to 90% ee are obtained in the reduction of a number of aryl alkyl ketones. The very challenging reduction of dialkyl ketones is moreover examined in the Rh-catalyzed aqueous ATH, where a modified surfactant-resembling sulfonylated diamine is used as ligand, and the reaction is carried out in the presence of SDS-micelles. A positive effect is to some extent found on the catalyst performance upon addition of phase-transfer components, especially regarding the catalytic activity in the reduction of more hydrophobic substrates. / At the time of the doctoral defense, the following paper was unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 4: In press.

Au cours de ce travail de recherche, nous nous sommes intéressés à la réaction d'hydrosilylation asymétrique de diverses cétones aromatiques catalysée par des complexes chiraux du cuivre. Un premier système catalytique mis au point à partir du fluorure de cuivre (II) et du ligand (S)-BINAP (1 mol %) a permis d'atteindre 92 % d'excès énantiomérique en alcools chiraux obtenus. L'aspect fondamental de ce procédé réside dans l'effet accélérateur de l'oxygène. Nous avons alors mis au point une méthode de réduction de diverses cétones aromatiques dans des conditions douces et à l'air. Un deuxième système catalytique, plus efficace en termes de réactivité et de sélectivité, mis au point à partir de fluorure de cuivre (I) et de ligands diphosphines chiraux a permis de réduire de façon catalytique et énantiosélective diverses cétones aromatiques. L'effet accélérateur de l'oxygène est nettement plus marqué comparé au système au fluorure de cuivre (II). L'optimisation est réalisée en présence de ligands encombrés de la famille de la MeO-BIPHEP. Une méthode de réduction de cétones aromatiques pratique, douce, efficace, sélective (jusqu'à 95 % e.e.) et avec des taux catalytiques particulièrement intéressants (< 0,05 mol %) est alors proposée. L'étude mécanistique entreprise nous a permis de préciser certaines étapes du cycle catalytique envisagé pour cette réaction et de souligner la complexité de la réaction étudiée. Mots-clés : catalyse asymétrique, hydrosilylation asymétrique, hydrure de cuivre, effet de l'oxygène, étude mécanistique. / During this research work, we have studied the asymmetric hydrosilylation reaction of various aromatic ketones catalysed by chiral copper complexes. The first system, based on copper fluoride (II) and (S)-BINAP as ligand (1 mol %), allowed us to achieve up to 92% e.e. in chiral alcohols. The fundamental aspect of this reaction is based on the accelerating effect of oxygen. A smooth method of various aromatic ketones was therefore established under air atmosphere. A second catalytic system, based on copper fluoride (I) and diphosphine ligands, was developed. This system was found to be more efficient in terms of reactivity and selectivity for the reduction of various aromatic ketones than the first system. An increase in sensitivity to the accelerating effect of the oxygen was observed with this copper (I) system. Some optimisations have shown than hindered ligands such as MeO-BIPEPH furnish up to 95% e.e. in the presence of a very low catalytic loading (< 0,05 mol %). Those conditions allowed the reduction of aromatic ketones in practical, soft, efficient and selective conditions. The mechanistic study enabled us to get a better understanding of the catalytic cycle but also pointed out the complexity of the reaction. Keywords: asymmetric catalysis, asymmetric hydrosilylation, copper hydride, oxygen effect, mechanistic investigation.

A detailed mechanistic investigation of the previously reported ruthenium pseudo-dipeptide-catalyzed asymmetric transfer hydrogenation (ATH) of aromatic ketones was performed. It was found that the addition of alkali metals has a large influence on both the reaction rate and the selectivity, and that the rate of the reaction was substantially increased when THF was used as a co-solvent. A novel bimetallic mechanism for the ruthenium pseudo-dipeptide-catalyzed asymmetric reduction of prochiral ketones was proposed. There is a demand for a larger substrate scope in the ATH reaction, and heteroaromatic ketones are traditionally more challenging substrates. Normally a catalyst is developed for one benchmark substrate, and a substrate screen is carried out with the best performing catalyst. There is a high probability that for different substrates, another catalyst could outperform the one used. To circumvent this issue, a multiple screen was executed, employing a variety of ligands from different families within our group’s ligand library, and different heteroaromatic ketones to fine-tune and to find the optimum catalyst depending on the substrate. The acquired information was used in the formal total syntheses of (R)-fluoxetine and (S)-duloxetine, where the key reduction step was performed with high enantioselectivities and high yield, in each case. Furthermore, a new iron-N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC)-catalyzed hydrosilylation (HS) protocol was developed. An active catalyst was formed in situ from readily available imidazolium salts together with an iron source, and the inexpensive and benign polymethylhydrosiloxane (PMHS) was used as hydride donor. A set of sterically less demanding, potentially bidentate NHC precursors was prepared. The effect proved to be remarkable, and an unprecedented activity was observed when combining them with iron. The same system was also explored in the reduction of amides to amines with satisfactory results. / <p>At the time of doctoral defense, the following paper was unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 2: Manuscript.</p>