Chapter one is an introduction to the less common coordination and oxidation chemistry of palladium; complexes containing Pd-OR, Pd-NR2 and those in the oxidation states of +IV. An outline of PdII/IV catalysed ligand-directed oxidative functionalisation is also included. Chapter two covers the design and synthesis of a range of tethered N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) complexes of Pd. In addition, the syntheses of a number of new tethered NHC ligands are described. The use of Density Functional Theory (DFT) to model the complexes in this thesis was explored. Chapter three describes the synthesis and characterisation of PdIV halide complexes. The relevance of these compounds to PdII/IV catalysed ligand-directed oxidative functionalisation is explored. DFT was used to probe the reaction pathway for N-bromosuccinimide and iodobenzene dichloride. Chapter four examines reactions with oxidants used to form C-O and C-C bonds. The reaction pathway for iodobenzene diacetate was investigated using DFT. Chapter five contains experimental details and characterising data for the compounds reported.

Ces travaux de thèse portent sur la réduction des émissions de composés organiques volatils (COV)via deux approches : La première est une approche dite « curative » visant à améliorer l’efficacité deméthodes récupératrices à base de charbon actif en incorporant des cyclodextrines (CDs) dans leprocédé. L’objectif était de combiner les propriétés adsorbantes des charbons actifs avec les propriétéscomplexantes des CDs. Dès lors, deux procédés de piégeage de COV ont été étudiés : i) par adsorptionen présence de charbon actif modifié par des cyclodextrines et ii) par adsorption/absorption enprésence d’une solution aqueuse contenant le charbon actif en suspension et des CDs. Le choix duCOV s’est porté sur des COVs chlorés peu solubles tels que le chlorobenzène, le tétrachlorure decarbone et le mono chlorure de vinyle. La seconde approche dite par « réduction à la source »,cherchait à limiter l’utilisation de solvant organique en catalyse via un procédé de catalyse dans l’eau.Ainsi, nous avons cherché à tirer profit des capacités d'adsorption élevées des charbons actifs nonmodifiés afin d'améliorer le transfert de masse de substrats hautement hydrophobes en catalysebiphasique aqueuse. Le charbon actif a été employé en tant qu’agent de transfert de phase dont le butétait de faciliter la rencontre entre le substrat hautement hydrophobe et un catalyseur hydrosoluble. Lafaisabilité d’un tel procédé a été démontrée vis-à-vis d’une réaction modèle de catalyse biphasiqueaqueuse développée au laboratoire. / This work focus on the reduction of volatile organic compounds (VOC) emissions through twodifferent approaches : the first one so called « cleaning » approach aiming at increasing theeffectiveness of activated carbon adsorption process by incorporating cyclodextrins (CDs) on hissurface. The objective was to combine the activated carbon adsorbent properties with the CDschelating properties. Thus two processes of VOC trapping were studied : i) adsorption onto activatedcarbon modified by cyclodextrins and ii) adsorption/absorption with an aqueous solution containingactivated carbon in suspension and CDs. We chose chlorinated VOC with a low solubility in watersuch as chlorobenzene, carbon tetrachloride and mono vinyl chloride. The second approach so called« source reduction », tried to limit the use of organic solvent by developing a new water catalyticprocess. We sought to use the high adsorption capacities of unmodified activated carbon in order toimprove the mass transfer of highly hydrophobic substrates in aqueous biphasic catalysis. Theactivated carbon was employed as a phase transfer agent in order to facilitate the reaction between thehighly hydrophobic substrate and a water-soluble catalyst. The feasibility of such process has beenproved through an aqueous biphasic catalysis reaction developed in the laboratory.

This thesis concerns the use of various potent oxidants in organic synthesis. The main focus is directed at selectively introducing trifluoromethyl groups into compounds containing double or triple bonds. All reactions proceed under mild conditions and can in most cases be performed on the bench-top. We have developed three different procedures for transformations of activated alkenes and alkynes as well as quinones. In paper I the selective introduction of a trifluoromethyl group together with an oxygen functionality to double and triple bonds is demonstrated. Paper II is focused on the related chemoselective cyanotrifluoromethylation in which a cyano group is added instead of the oxygen functionality. Paper III describes a new procedure for C–H trifluoromethylation of quinones. Our studies on the mechanistic aspects of the above reactions are described in Paper IV. In these studies we investigated the ligand and substituent effects in Cu-catalyzed reactions. Paper V is focused on a conceptually new palladium-catalyzed allylic C–H acyloxylation of olefins under oxidative conditions. The procedure uses an inexpensive, safe and environmentally benign oxidant, sodium perborate, which is activated with acetic anhydride. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following paper was unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 4: Submitted.</p>

Chapter 1 is a brief review on some of the recents developments in palladium-catalysed C-H functionalisation chemistry. The synthesis and functionalisation of heterocycles using these methodologies was particularly emphasised. Chapter 2 presents our efforts to identify a new catalytic system to promote the intramolecular coupling of vinyl bromides with unfunctionalised aryl C-H bonds for the formation of benzofurans. Dihydrobenzofurans were obtained efficiently under mild conditions in the presence of Pd(OAc)₂, X-Phos and K₂CO₃ in DMA at 80 °C and a subsequent one-pot isomerisation under acidic conditions afforded the desired benzofurans. A new strategy has also provided access to more complex benzofurans by functionalisation of the exocyclic alkene isomer in both a chiral and achiral manner. In Chapter 3, mechanistic studies were performed on the benzofuran formation reaction. The analysis of substituent effects on the aromatic ring is in accordance with an electrophilic aromatic substitution mechanism (SEAr); however, the existence of both intra and intermolecular kinetic isotope effects suggest a SE3 type pathway rather than a pure SEAr. In Chapter 4, the intramolecular coupling of vinyl bromides with unfunctionalised aryl C-H bonds was further extended to the synthesis of six-membered heterocycles by direct arylation of alkenyl bromide derivatives in the presence of Pd(OAc)₂, dppf and K₂CO₃ in DMA at 120 °C. The synthetic utility of this methodology was exemplified by the synthesis of substituted isoquinolines in six steps. Moreover, we have applied our methodology to the direct arylation of sulfonamides, leading to an interesting synthesis of widely used sultams. Both these new routes are currently being investigated and should provide access to a variety of differently substituted cyclic sulfonamides and isoquinolines. Finally, Chapter 5 presents a new strategy for the synthesis of benzo[b]furan was briefly investigated. It consists in consecutive Tsuji-Trost and C-H functionalisation reactions. This methodology requires simpler and more versatile substrates, allowing access to various heteroaromatics in a single step. We successfully proved the viability of this reaction through the synthesis of a range of benzofurans in modest yields. To our knowledge, this is the first example of a single palladium catalyst performing these different reactions in tandem in a simple procedure.

In the following thesis, new methodologies towards the synthesis of a range of sulfonyl (-SO₂-) containing functional groups are documented. These methods utilise easy-to-handle sulfur dioxide surrogates, such as DABSO (vide infra), and exploit palladium catalysis as a new mechanistic protocol for the incorporation of the -SO2- unit. <b>Chapter 1</b> is a literature review surveying sulfur dioxide in organic synthesis, the established uses of SO₂ surrogates and the importance of the sulfonyl moiety in chemistry. Palladium-catalysed (carbonylative) cross-couplings are also broadly discussed as they provide inspiration for, and mechanistic similarities with, the proposed chemistry. <b>Chapter 2</b> describes a de novo synthesis of the sulfonamide functional group; a three-component and convergent methodology coupling (hetero)aryl and alkenyl halides with sulfur dioxide (provided by easy-to-handle surrogates such as DABSO) and hydrazine nucleophiles, is documented. This is achieved through the action of a readily available palladium catalytic system and is the first example of a metal-catalysed sulfonylative cross-coupling of halide based electrophiles. <b>Chapter 3</b> presents a new method of generating (hetero)aryl and alkenyl sulfones. The ability of organometallic reagents to add to sulfur dioxide (supplied via DABSO) is applied to deliver the corresponding metal sulfinate salt. This in situ derived sulfinate is coupled with an (hetero)aryl or alkenyl (pseudo)halide using palladium catalysis to form the desired sulfone. An electronically modified XantPhos-type ligand was designed for the reaction in order to suppress unwanted aryl-aryl exchange. <b>Chapter 4</b> documents the generation of (hetero)aryl and alkenyl sulfinates from the corresponding halide and DABSO through a palladium-catalysed sulfination protocol, obviating the need for organometallic reagents. A mild set of conditions using IPA as both a solvent and reductant together with a low loading of palladium catalyst offers an attractive route to sulfonyl compounds thanks to the in situ derived sulfinates being converted into a broad variety of functional groups via established onwards reactivity. <b>Chapter 5</b> discusses the conclusion of the research and the potential for future work. <b>Chapter 6</b> presents the experimental data.

Catalysis plays an important part in our society. Numerous transition metal catalysts have been developed which can convert many different substrates in a wide range of reactions. Catalysis also plays an important role in nature and therefore special catalysts, enzymes, have evolved over time. Enzymes are tremendously efficient giving high yields and selectivities both regio and chemical but have a limited substrate and reaction scope. It was speculated that by combining the two, an ideal catalyst can be obtained. We planned to achieve this by introducing a transition metal, the catalytic centre, into the chiral environment of a double helical oligonucleotide. The transition metals were introduced by coordinating them to a ligand which was located in the chiral environment of a double helix. The ligand was either covalently bound (Chapter 2) or non-covalently bound (Chapter 3) to the oligonucleotide (Figure 1). Figure 1: A) covalent introduction of a transition metal into a nucleotide B) non-covalent introduction of a transition metal into a nucleotide For the covalent approach a phosphine ligand was chosen. A nucleoside was modified with an alkyne to which a phosphine moiety could be coupled via the copper catalysed 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition. The modified nucleoside was incorporated into an oligonucleotide before attempting to attach the phosphine moiety. The monomer was used as a ligand in allylic substitution and hydroformylation. In the non-covalent approach polyamide minor groove binders were functionalised with an amine linker. Phosphine moieties were connected via amide bond formation. Although the coupling worked effortlessly the phosphines oxidised during purification therefore dienes were also investigated.

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Metal nanoparticles have received much interest for their application in catalysis due to high surface-to-volume ratios resulting in more available active sites. Ideally these catalysts are heterogeneous and allow for facile separation from the catalytic reaction mixture making them ideal for industrial application. Dispersed metal nanoparticles are explored due to their high reactivity in solution and are stabilized by surfactants and polymers. However, it is difficult to determine whether or not a catalyst is truly heterogeneous as a certain degree of leaching from the metal nanoparticle is inevitable. Determining the mechanisms involved in nanocatalysis is also a challenge. In this study, a series of dispersed palladium nanocatalysts in the Suzuki reaction with phenylboronic acid and bromobenzene were characterized before and after catalysis to determine what changes occur. Samples where characterized before and after the catalytic reaction by XPS, SEM, and EDS to monitor changes in particle size and composition. Reaction mixtures after catalysis were analyzed by ICP-MS for leached palladium species to determine if concentrations were high enough for homogeneous catalysis to take place. The dispersed palladium nanoparticles studied experienced growth during the catalytic process and a significant amount of leaching. XPS analysis indicates the presence of aromatic species on the particle surface after the catalytic reaction. The aromatic species is likely biphenyl, the product of the catalytic reaction, as the presence of boron and bromine was not found in XPS and EDS analysis.

First principles theoretical studies based on a gradient-corrected density functional approach have been carried out on the atomic and electronic properties and oxidation of Pdn (n=1-7) clusters supported on the TiO2(110) surface. The studies are aimed to address some of the fundamental issues related to the properties of supported Pdn clusters used as catalysts in oxidation reactions. Of those issues are the following: What are the atomic structures of Pdn clusters on the TiO2 surface? Upon oxidation, do O atoms from a dissociated O2 molecule spill over onto the underlying TiO2 sup- port? How strongly does spillover oxygen bind? What is the microscopic mechanism for the experimentally observed strong metal support interaction (SMSI) state where the Pd catalyst becomes encapsulated by the surface? Is this related to spillover oxygen? How do the properties of the Pdn clusters change when the TiO2 surface is marked with oxygen vacancies? As will be shown, the ground state geometries of supported Pdn clusters are driven by competing effects including intra-cluster interactions favoring compact structures and cluster support interactions favoring geometries that flatten out in the TiO2(110) surface channel. When exposed to O2, a single Pd atom only activates the O-O bond while all other clusters energetically favor a broken O-O bond. For PdnO2 (n=2-7), while one O is adsorbed on the Pdn cluster, the second O spills over to a lattice Ti site binding at the Pd-Ti interface. The binding strength of these spillover atoms is calculated to be surprisingly high, which is identified to be a result of long-range ionic interactions between Pd and spilled over oxygen. When oxygen spills onto lattice Ti sites, composite TiO motifs are formed that can exchange sites with Pd atoms with a minimal energy, opening the pathway for Ti migration and strong metal support interactions. For the TiO2 surface with oxygen vacancies, clusters bound at the vacancy site possess atomic and electronic properties that resemble bulk palladium. The theoretical findings are compared with recent experiments and are believed to provide insight toward developing a fundamental understanding of supported Pdn clusters as oxidation catalysts.