Les hétérocycles constituent une des classes les plus importantes de composés chimiques. Ces motifs structuraux sont les éléments clés d’une large gamme de produits naturels possédant des activités biologiques ou thérapeutiques. Toutes ces raisons expliquent le vif intérêt suscité par le développement de nouvelles méthodes de synthèse d'hétérocycles au sein de la communauté scientifique. Avec une volonté de réduire toujours plus l'empreinte environnementale de nos recherches, notre laboratoire vise à développer de nouvelles méthodologies de synthèse efficaces plus vertes et respectueuses de l'environnement. Ainsi, mes travaux de thèse ont fait appel à deux thématiques largement étudiées au sein de notre laboratoire que sont la catalyse photorédox et l'organocatalyse. Dans une première partie, l'utilisation de la catalyse photorédox comme outils pour la synthèse et la fonctionnalisation d'hétérocycles sera détaillée. Des motifs hétérocycliques originaux ont ainsi été préparés avec de bons rendements et dans des conditions réactionnelles très douces. La deuxième partie est quant à elle consacrée à la synthèse d'hétérocycles azotés énantioenrichis grâce à des réactions énantiosélectives organocatalysées d'aza-Diels-Alder à demande inverse d'électrons. En effet, la demande toujours plus accrue en composés optiquement actifs par l'industrie chimique et pharmaceutique explique le fort engouement pour le développement de méthodes de synthèse asymétriques. Ainsi, les procédés développés fournissent de nouvelles voies d'accès à des structures hétérocycliques chirales complexes avec d'excellents résultats en termes d'efficacité mais aussi de stéréosélectivité. / Heterocycles are one of the most important classes of chemical compounds. These structural scaffolds are the key elements of a wide range of natural products with biological or therapeutic activities. As a result, a great deal of research carried out in chemistry is devoted to development of new heterocycle synthesis methods. With a desire to further reduce the environmental footprint of our research, our laboratory aims to develop new methodologies for effective synthesis, more green and environmentally friendly. Thus, my thesis works lie on two themes widely studied in our laboratory that are photoredox catalysis and organocatalysis. In the first part, the use of photoredox catalysis as an efficient tool for the synthesis and functionalization of heterocycles is detailed. Original heterocyclic units have thus been prepared in good yields and under mild reaction conditions. The second part is devoted to the synthesis of enantioenriched nitrogen-containing heterocycles through organocatalyzed enantioselective inverse electron-demand aza-Diels-Alder reactions. Indeed, the increasing demand of optically pure compounds by the chemical and pharmaceutical industry explains the strong craze for the development of asymmetric synthesis methods. Thus, the developed processes provide new access routes to complex chiral heterocyclic structures with excellent results in terms of efficiency as well as stereoselectivity.

La découverte des activités cytotoxiques impressionnantes des subérosanes, des sesquiterpènes d’origine marine isolées dès 1996 de la gorgone Subergorgia suberosa, ainsi que leurs structures tricycliques complexes possédant jusqu’à cinq centre stéréogènes contigus dont un centre quaternaire central, ont fait de ces molécules des cibles de choix tant pour les acteurs de la chimie médicinale que pour ceux travaillant dans le domaine de la synthèse totale. Enfin, une molécule d’origine synthétique « simplifiée » de cette famille, la nor-subérosénone, a également montré des activités cytotoxiques remarquables. Les quantités disponibles de ces produits d’intérêt pharmacologique étant infimes dans le milieu marin, notre équipe s’est intéressée précédemment à la synthèse et à l’évaluation biologique de plusieurs représentants de cette famille de produits naturels et de leurs antipodes permettant de décrire leurs configurations absolues ainsi qu’aux nor-subérosénone et nor-subérosanone d’origine synthétique. L’étape clef de ces synthèses faisant appel à une réaction de Michael asymétrique utilisant un inducteur chiral stœchiométrique peu onéreux et disponible sous ses deux formes antipodales a permis d’obtenir pour la première fois, en version énantiosélective, plusieurs représentants de cette famille de façon concise. Nous décrivons dans ce manuscrit comment nous sommes passés d’une telle réaction de Michael « stœchiométrique » à un processus organocatalysé asymétrique impliquant un système catalytique qui après développement s’est montré efficace et peu coûteux permettant de réduire encore le nombre d’étapes de ces synthèses et d'accroitre l'économie d'atomes, vers une chimie plus respectueuse de l’environnement. Les améliorations apportées aux synthèses précédemment réalisées au sein de notre équipe, et notamment à une cyclisation originale catalysée au triflate d’argent, ont permis de réaliser les synthèses par la voie « stœchiométrique » de nor-subérosanes avec une grande efficacité. La (+)-nor-subérosénone a été obtenue en vingt étapes et 19.29% de rendement global (vs dix-neuf étapes et 4.65% de rendement global précédemment) et la (±)-nor-subérosanone en dix-neuf étapes et 25.06% de rendement global (vs dix-huit étapes et 8.85% de rendement global précédemment). Le succès de la voie organocatalysée a enfin permis de synthétiser la (+)-nor-subérosénone en dix-huit étapes et 19.76% de rendement global (vs dix-neuf étapes et 4.65% de rendement global). Nous avons enfin ouvert la voie à la synthèse potentielle d’épimères des subérosanes via une mise au point de l’addition organocatalysée de Michael de cétone cycliques alpha-méthylées sur les maleimides. Divers maléimides se sont avérés être des électrophiles appropriés dans ce processus, délivrant principalement les adduits attendus portant la stéréodiade centre quaternaire-centre tertiaire adjacents avec des rendements modérés à excellents (39 à 94%) et des énantiosélectivités bonnes à excellentes (75 à 99% ee) dans des conditions réactionnelles faisant intervenir l’activation par les micro-ondes. Des conditions réactionnelles ont été optimisées pour réduire au maximum les diastéréomères et les régioisomères correspondants ainsi que les produits secondaires d’aza-Michael. Ce travail s’inscrit dans le domaine plus vaste et très compétitif de la formation organocatalysée énantiosélective, en une seule étape, d’enchaînement de centre stéréogènes carbonés quaternaire et tertiaire. / The discovery of the impressive cytotoxic activities of the subterranean, sesquiterpenes of marine origin isolated in 1996 from the gorgon Subergorgia suberosa, as well as their complex tricyclic structures with up to five contiguous stereogenic centers including a central quaternary center, made these molecules choice targets for both those involved in medicinal chemistry and those working in the field of total synthesis. Finally, a molecule of "simplified" synthetic origin of this family, nor-suzerenone, has also shown remarkable cytotoxic activities. As the quantities available for these products of pharmacological interest are minimal in the marine environment, our team was interested previously in the synthesis and the biological evaluation of several representatives of this family of natural products and their antipodes allowing to describe their absolute configurations as well as nor-suzerenone and nor-suerosanone of synthetic origin. The key step in these syntheses, using an asymmetric Michael reaction using a low-cost stoichiometric chiral inducer available in its two antipodal forms, made it possible to obtain for the first time, in enantioselective version, several representatives of this family in a way that concisely. We describe in this manuscript how we went from such a "stoichiometric" Michael reaction to an asymmetric organocatalytic process involving a catalytic system that after development proved effective and inexpensive enough to further reduce the number of stages of these syntheses and to increase the economy of atoms, towards a chemistry more respectful of the environment. The improvements made to syntheses previously carried out within our team, and in particular to an original cyclization catalyzed with silver triflate, made it possible to synthesize by the "stoichiometric" way of nor-subterraneans with a great efficiency. (+) - nor-suzerenone was obtained in twenty steps and 19.29% overall yield (vs nineteen stages and 4.65% overall yield previously) and the (±) -nor-suerosanone in nineteen stages and 25.06 % overall return (vs eighteen steps and 8.85% overall return previously). The success of the organocatalyzed route eventually allowed to synthesize (+)-nor-suberosenone in eighteen stages and 19.76% overall yield (vs nineteen stages and 4.65% overall yield). Finally, we have opened the way for the potential synthesis of epimers of suberosanes via a development of organocatalyzed Michael addition reaction of alpha-methylated cyclic ketones to maleimides. Various maleimides have been shown to be suitable electrophiles in this process, mainly delivering the expected adducts carrying the adjacent tertiary center-tertiary center stereodiade in moderate to excellent yields (39 to 94%) and good to excellent enantioselectivities (75 to 99% ee) under reaction conditions involving activation by microwaves. Reaction conditions were optimized to minimize corresponding diastereomers and regioisomers as well as aza-Michael by-products. This work is part of the larger and highly competitive field of one-step enantioselective organocatalyst formation of quaternary and tertiary carbon-based stereogenic centers.

The present doctoral thesis focused mainly on the use of α-imino esters in 1,4-conjugated addition reactions (Michael-type additions) which have been optimized using phosphines acting as organocatalysts. On the other hand, α-imino esters have been evaluated in heterogeneous systems functionalizing carbonaceous matrices through 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions and their subsequent application in catalysis. Chapter 1 describes a new approach for the preparation of glutamates and pyroglutamates surrogates without the use of bases, through Michael-type addition reactions between different imino esters and conjugated alkenes in the presence of a phosphine that acts as an organocatalyst. Chapter 2 reports the results obtained from the functionalization of single-walled nanotubes (SWCNT) with different imino esters through the microwave-assisted 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction; the pyrrolidine rings-functionalized material was characterized by using several techniques and subsequently the synthesis of a heterogeneous catalyst using an iridium complex was afforded. This supported catalyst was evaluated, as a proof of concept, in the hydrogen-transfer reaction of acetophenone to yield 1-phenyletanol. In Chapter 3 the covalent functionalization of multilayer graphene (MLG) via microwave-assisted 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition with azomethine ylides generated by thermal 1,2-prototropy from various imino esters is described. In particular, this strategy allows to anchor an imino ester containing a 2,2’-bipyridine unit in order to obtain a functionalized material capable of assembling a ruthenium atom to achieve a heterogeneous supported complex. This new catalyst was tested, as a proof of concept, in the photocatalytic aerobic oxidative hydroxylation reaction of 4-methoxyphenylboronic acid. / The present work has been possible thanks to the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (project RED2018-102387-T) the Spanish Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad, Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) (MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033) and Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER, EU) (projects CTQ2017-82935-P, PID2019-107268GB-I00 and PID2021-123079OB-I00), the Generalitat Valenciana (IDIFEDER/2021/013, GVACOVID19/2021/079 and CIDEGENT/2020/058), Medalchemy S. L. (Medalchemy-18T) and the University of Alicante (VIGROB-068, UAUSTI21-05). Additionally, I would like to thanks the Generalitat Valenciana for the Grisolía’s fellowship (GRISOLIAP/2020/111) from the Santiago Grisolía program and for the CIBEFP/2022/17 grant to carry out a three-months research stay in the Department of chemical and pharmaceutical sciences at the University of Trieste-Italy.

Several ligands derived from D-glucosamine, designed for different catalytic reactions havebeen synthesized. The ligands for homogeneous catalysis based on 1,2-glucodiamine wereprepared, and used in reactions of allylic alkylation, hydrogenation and Michael addition.Supported Aqueous Phase Catalyst (SAPC) system was prepared from D-glucosamine anduse with very good results in Suzuki Miyaura cross coupling reactions. Catalyst was alsorecycled. Attempt to prepare ligands grafted on SBA-silica matrix were made as well asligands containing poly(ethylene) glycol moiety.

Des carbènes N-hétérocycliques (NHC)s ont été employés comme catalyseurs organiques de la polymérisation par étapes du téréphtaldéhyde. Cette partie est une application en chimie des polymères de la réaction de « condensation de la benzoïne » catalysée par les NHCs impliquant un mono-aldéhyde analogue. Des poly(1,4-phénylène-1-oxo-2-hydroxyéthylène)s ou « polybenzoïnes » ont ainsi été obtenus par polymérisation en solution dans le DMSO ou le THF comme solvant à une température inférieure à 40 °C. La présence de chaines de polybenzoïne cycliques a pu être mise en évidence. La proportion de ces cycles dépend de la nature du catalyseur carbénique et de la polarité du milieu réactionnel. Dans la deuxième partie du travail, des solutions simples ont été proposées pour manipuler les NHCs de manière plus aisée, en évitant leur dégradation prématurée. Pour ce faire, des supports polymères porteurs de sites carbéniques, c’est à dire des « poly(NHC)s », ont été développés et employés à des fins d’organocatalyse. Bien que recyclables, ces « poly(NHC)s » restent assez sensibles aux traces d’impuretés. Un moyen de les protéger est de les faire réagir avec le CO2. Les adduits ainsi formés, « poly(NHC-CO2)s », peuvent alors être employés comme précurseurs pour générer les « poly(NHC)s » in situ, par simple activation thermique, le retour aux « poly(NHC-CO2)s » pouvant être effectué par carboxylation des « poly(NHC)s ». Enfin, des méthodes de synthèse de composés de type imidazolium (version moléculaire) et polyimidazolium (version polymère supportée) à contre anion hydrogénocarbonate (HCO3-) ont été développées. De tels précurseurs peuvent eux-mêmes servir de pré-catalyseurs (moléculaires ou polymères) pour générer, par chauffage, des NHCs et poly(NHC)s, offrant un moyen très pratique de mener des réactions d’organocatalyse et de recycler les catalyseurs. / N-Heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) have been employed as organic catalysts for the step-growth polymerization of terephtaldehyde. This part is an application to polymer chemistry of the so-called “benzoin condensation”, reaction catalyzed by NHCs involving a mono-aldehyde substrate. Poly(1,4-phenylene-1-oxo-2-hydroxyethylene)s or « polybenzoins » have thus been obtained by polymerization reactions conducted in DMSO or THF at temperatures below 40°C. Presence of cyclic polybenzoins has been put forward. The content of such cyclic species was found to vary as a function of the NHC catalyst employed and of the reaction media used. In a second part, simple solutions have been proposed to easily handle NHCs, by avoiding their degradation. For this purpose, polymer supports bearing NHCs moities, i.e “poly(NHC)s”, have been developed and employed for the purpose of organocatalysis. Even if “poly(NHC)s” were found to be recyclable, they still remain sensitive to impurities. Another way to protect the carbenic centers is to react “poly(NHC)s” with CO2. The adducts thus obtained, “poly(NHC-CO2)s”, can then be employed as precursors for the in situ generation of “poly(NHC)s”, by a simple thermal activation. A further carboxylation of such generated species allow for the recovering of “poly(NHC-CO2)s”. Finally, synthetic methods for the preparation of imidazolium (molecular version) and polyimidazolium (supported polymer version) salts with hydrogenocarbonate (HCO3-) as counter-anion have been developed. Such precursors can serve as precatalysts (molecular or supported) to generate, by heating, NHCs and poly(NHC)s, giving a practice way to conduct organocalysed reactions and recycle the catalysts.

L'organocatalyse asymétrique est un domaine en plein développement. L'immobilisation de ce type de catalyseurs pourrait présenter de multiples avantages. Ces travaux de thèse s'intéressent à la préparation de silices hybrides organiques/inorganiques par voie sol-gel et aux applications de ces matériaux en organocatalyse asymétrique. La première partie du manuscrit est consacrée à une présentation bibliographique du sujet. Dans la deuxième partie, l'utilisation de la L-proline comme modèle est décrite. Des matériaux contenant un fragment L-proline ont été préparés et leurs performances catalytiques évaluées pour une réaction d'aldolisation asymétrique. Les processus à l'origine des propriétés catalytiques modérées de ces catalyseurs supportés sont discutés. La troisième partie porte sur le catalyseur de Takemoto, organocatalyseur bifonctionnel contenant un groupement donneur de liaisons hydrogène et une fonction amine tertiaire. Les différentes stratégies envisagées pour préparer des dérivés silylés de ce catalyseur sont exposées. Enfin, la nanostructuration de silsesquioxanes par le biais de liaisons hydrogène entre fonctions thiourée est présentée. / Asymmetric organocatalysis is a blossoming area of research. Immobilisation of this kind of catalysts could present numerous advantages. This thesis deals with the sol-gel synthesis of organic/inorganic hybrid silicas and their applications in asymmetric organocatalysis. The first part of this work is dedicated to a bibliographic presentation of this area of research. In the second part, the use of L-proline as a model is described. Hybrid materials containing a L-proline component were prepared and their catalytic performances were evaluated in an asymmetric aldolisation reaction. The processes accounting for the moderate performances of these materials are discussed. The third part relates the synthetic strategies used to prepare silylated derivatives of the Takemoto catalyst, a bifunctional catalyst containig a H-bond donnor and a tertiary amine. Finally the nanostructuring of bridged silsesquioxanes through H-bonding interactions between thiourea cross-linkers is presented.

This thesis describes strategies for and examples ofcellulose fiber modification.The ability of an engineered biocatalyst, acellulose-binding module fused to theCandida antarcticalipase B, to catalyze ring-openingpolymerization of e-caprolactone in close proximity tocellulose fiber surfaces was explored. The water content in thesystem was found to regulate the polymer molecular weight,whereas the temperature primarily influenced the reaction rate.The hydrophobicity of the cellulose sample increased as aresult of the presence of surface-deposited polyester. A two-step enzymatic method was also investigated. Here,Candida antarctica lipase B catalyzed the acylation ofxyloglucan oligosaccharides.The modified carbohydrates werethen incorporated into longer xyloglucan molecules through theaction of a xyloglucan endotransglycosylase. The modifiedxyloglucan chains were finally deposited on a cellulosesubstrate. The action ofCandida antarcticalipase B was further investigated inthe copolymerization of e-caprolactone and D,L-lactide.Copolymerizations with different e-caprolactone-to-D,L-lactideratios were carried out. Initially, the polymerization wasslowed by the presence of D,L-lactide. During this stage,D,L-lactide was consumed more rapidly than ε-caprolactoneand the incorporation occurred dimer-wise with regard to thelactic acid units. Morphological studies on wood fibers were conducted using asol-gel mineralization method. The replicas produced werestudied, without additional sample preparation, by electronmicroscopy and nitrogen adsorption. Information concerning thestructure and accessibility of the porous fiber wall wasobtained. Studies of never-dried kraft pulp casts revealedmicro-cavities and cellulose fibrils with mean widths of 4.7(±2) and 3.6 (±1) nm, respectively. Finally, cationic catalysis by simple carboxylic acids wasstudied. L-Lactic acid was shown to catalyze the ring-openingpolymerization of ε-caprolactone in bulk at 120 °C.The reaction was initiated with methylß-D-glucopyranoside, sucrose or raffinose, which resultedin carbohydrate-functionalized polyesters. The regioselectivityof the acylation was well in agreement with the correspondinglipase-catalyzed reaction. The polymerization was alsoinitiated with a hexahydroxy-functional compound, whichresulted in a dendrimer-like star polymer. The L-lactic acidwas readily recycled, which made consecutive reactions usingthe same catalyst possible. Keywords:Candida antarcticalipase B, cationic catalysis,cellulose-binding module, dendrimer, enzymatic polymerization,fiber modification, silica-cast replica, sol-gelmineralization, organocatalysis, xyloglucanendotransglycosylase

This thesis describes our physical organic and mechanistic investigations into N Heterocyclic Carbene (NHC) mediated organocatalytic transformations, through a collaboration with the research group of Dr AnnMarie O'Donoghue and PhD student Richard Massey at Durham University. Initial research focused upon the determination of kinetic acidities and associated pKₐ values for a range of triazolium salts using C(3) H/D exchange, monitored by ¹H NMR spectroscopy. Estimates for pKₐ values in the range 16.6 17.4 were obtained, which are some ~2 and ~3 5 pK units lower than analogous imidazolium and thiazolium species respectively, with modest N substituent (0.3 pK units) effects observed. At lower pD values, an altered pD dependence indicates a dicationic triazolium species is formed (through N(1) protonation) with an estimated pKₐᴺ¹ of -0.2-0.5 and C(3) H pKₐ values at least 2 units lower than their monocationic analogues. This methodology was subsequently extended to mesoionic NHCs, where pKa values of 23.0 27.1 for a range of triazolium and 30.2 31.0 for a range of imidazolium salts were estimated. A detailed study of the NHC catalysed intramolecular Stetter reaction was also undertaken using ¹H NMR spectroscopy. A range of 3 (hydroxybenzyl)azolium salts (adducts), formed from the addition of NHC to aldehyde were isolated, enabling the generation of reaction profiles and the determination of rate constants. The reaction proceeds via rapid and reversible adduct generation, followed by rate limiting Breslow intermediate formation, with electron withdrawing N aryl substituents increasing the rate of product formation. Consistent with rate limiting deprotonation, deuterium exchange studies of O methylated adduct analogues found electron withdrawing N-aryl units gave faster exchange. Examination of the equilibrium constants for adduct formation revealed that both in the case of NHCs bearing 2,6 disubstituted N aryl units and aldehydes bearing a 2 ether substituent, the equilibrium position is significantly shifted towards adduct. Finally, studies at sub-stoichiometric NHC concentrations, monitored by HPLC, imply the reaction is first order with respect to NHC precursor, but zero order in aldehyde, again indicative of rate limiting deprotonation.

This diploma thesis deals with the use of organocatalysis in an asymmetric allylic substitution reaction of Morita-Baylis-Hillman carbonates by aniline derivatives leading to enantiomerically enriched allylic amines. The first part of the thesis is focused on optimizing the reaction conditions in the organocatalytic reaction with respect to the yields and enantiomeric excesses of the products. In the second part of the thesis prepared enantiomerically enriched allylic amines are used in the cyclization step to give β-lactame cycles that serve as the key intermediates in the total synthesis of Ezetimib as is demonstrated in the final part of the diploma thesis.

This diploma thesis is focused on the preparation of enantiomerically pure compounds based on organocatalytic allylic substitution using Baylis-Hillman carbonates. As selected substrates for the allylic substitution were chosen α-azidoketones such as azidoacetophenone, 2-azido-1-indanone and then heterocyclic compounds (N-phenylrhodanine and its derivate) belonging to the pharmaceutical privileged compounds. Other substrate for allylic substitution was allylmalononitrile. In addition, this thesis includes with synthesis of cyclic compounds based on the reaction of products of allylmalononitrile with B-H carbonates using olefin metathesis.