The primary objective of this research project was to develop a novel protocol for the synthesis of densely functionalized optically enriched indanes through a chiral cation directed 5-endo-trig ring closure. In chapter two, a convergent strategy for the construction of the cyclization precursors is reported, which employs two easily adapted fragments. In chapter three, a range of quaternary ammonium salts are screened to establish the optimal phase-transfer conditions for this system. A variety of substrates were evaluated to probe the scope and limitations of this methodology. Finally, two potential mechanistic pathways for this enigmatic process are outlined and discussed in chapter four.

<strong>Introduction – Dearomatisation of Heteroaromatic Compounds</strong> The introduction provides a survey of dearomatisation reaction of heteroaromatics, with a particular focus on pyridines/pyridinium salts and furans. The mechanism, scope, and limitations of various approaches are covered, along with the goals of this project. <strong>Results and Discussion – Dearomatisation of Electron-Deficient Heteroaromatics</strong> This chapter initially explores the asymmetric addition of organometallic nucleophiles to pyridinium salts bearing a chiral counterion. Unfortunately, this approach ultimately proved unsuccessful, due to low observed enantioselectivities, and the low solubility of such salts. The second part of this chapter concerns the attempted asymmetric addition of dicarbonyl nucleophiles to electron-deficient furans, under conditions of chiral phase-transfer catalysts, affording bicyclic products in moderate enantioselectivity. Various alternative routes were also explored for the dearomatisation of furans and benzenoid systems. <strong>Introduction – Hydrogen Borrowing Alkylation Reactions with Alcohols</strong> The introduction surveys the range of methods available for the alkylation of various nucleophiles with alcohols under transition metal-catalysed conditions. Related methodologies are also explored, along with methods for the dehydrogenation of methanol. <strong>Results and Discussion - Rhodium-catalysed Methylation of Ketones Using Methanol</strong> This chapter describes the development of a novel ketone α-methylation using methanol. The development of reaction conditions is explored, followed by expansion of the substrate scope, including limitations of the methylation reaction. Mechanistic investigations support a methanol oxidation, aldol reaction/elimination, conjugate reduction pathway. Investigations into the role of O2 in the methylation reaction proved inconclusive. The utility of the reaction was also expanded via one-pot dialkylation reactions (work by Di Shen), Baeyer-Villiger oxidation of the products, and an attempted asymmetric transfer-hydrogenation. <strong>Results and Discussion - Interrupted Hydrogen Borrowing Reactions of Methanol</strong> This chapter looks to intercept intermediates from the α-methylation reaction. The selective methylenation of ketones is described, and a range of nucleophiles are screened for further functionalisation of ketones. Finally, a number of nucleophiles, including nitroalkanes, amines, peroxides and boronic acids are applied to one pot methylenation/conjugate addition protocols, affording complex products after two steps in one reaction vessel. <strong>Experimental</strong> Full experimental procedures and spectroscopic characterisation of compounds are provided.

Dans un contexte de raréfaction des ressources pétrolières et de pressions environnementales, l’industrie chimique a besoin d'innover en développant de nouvelles filières destinées à l'élaboration de bioproduits, à partir de matières premières d'origine végétale. Les acides gras insaturés obtenus à partir des huiles végétales, constituent ainsi une ressource renouvelable à fort potentiel permettant de diversifier les approvisionnements d'origine pétrolière. Notre intérêt s'est porté sur la réaction de scission oxydative d’acides gras insaturés pour conduire à des monoacides et diacides à chaînes courtes et impaires, peu ou pas disponibles à l’état naturel. Ce type de chaînes hydrocarbonées est recherché dans l’industrie, car elles possèdent des propriétés spécifiques, mais elles ne sont actuellement produites qu'à partir de ressources fossiles. L'objectif était donc de mettre au point un procédé de clivage oxydatif performant, moins onéreux et moins polluant que l’ozonolyse, le seul procédé industriel opérationnel. Les conditions oxydantes sélectionnées font appel à l’eau oxygénée en tant qu’oxydant, associée à un catalyseur de transfert de phase, sans avoir recours à un solvant organique. Plusieurs catalyseurs de transfert de phase Q3{PO4[WO(O2)2]4} ont été préparés à partir de l’acide tungstophosphorique, d’eau oxygénée et d'un sel d’ammonium quaternaire (Q+,Cl-), afin de comparer leur efficacité à transférer l'oxygène vers le substrat en phase organique. Une optimisation des paramètres réactionnels a été effectuée avec le catalyseur le plus performant. De plus, deux protocoles ont été mis au point, pour la préparation in-situ du catalyseur et pour sa récupération en fin de réaction. Le procédé a été généralisé à des dérivés d’acides gras dans le but d’obtenir d'autres acides à chaînes courtes, répondant à une large gamme d'applications. Le gain environnemental lié à ce nouveau procédé a été évalué par le calcul d’indicateurs verts. Afin d’envisager un recyclage plus aisé du catalyseur, l’anion oxodiperoxotungstate {PO4[WO(O2)2]4}3-, l’espèce active du catalyseur, a été supporté sur des résines échangeuses d’anions. Deux types de résines macroporeuses ont été testées : des résines commerciales (Amberlite IRA 900 et Lewatit K7367) et des résines modifiées (type Merrifield). Nous avons montré que ces dernières conduisent à de meilleurs rendements de scission oxydative de l’acide oléique que les résines commerciales, et ce, malgré la présence de solvants. Cependant, l’immobilisation de l’anion oxodiperoxotungstate sur les résines commerciales a permis la synthèse en une seule étape d’acétals, composés présentant un grand intérêt pour la synthèse de dérivés à haute valeur ajoutée. En utilisant l’acétone, à la fois comme réactif et solvant, nous avons obtenu de bons rendements en cétal. De plus, la réaction d’acétalisation « one-pot » de l’acide oléique a pu être étendue à d’autres solvants (alcools), offrant la possibilité de synthétiser un large panel d’acétals. Le procédé développé est particulièrement intéressant car il conduit directement à la synthèse d’acétals ou de cétals à partir d’un acide gras insaturé biosourcé, en évitant les étapes de réactions intermédiaires. / In a context of scarce oil resources and environmental pressures, the chemical industry needs to innovate by developing new production chains aiming the design of bioproducts from biobased raw materials. Unsaturated fatty acids derived from vegetable oils, thus represents renewable resources with a great potential, allowing to diversify petroleum based supplies. Our interest is focused on the oxidative cleavage reaction of unsaturated fatty acids to yield mono-acids and di-acids with shorter and odd hydrocarbon chains, which are not available at a natural state. Such hydrocarbon chains are attractive for industry because they meet specific properties. But, they are currently only produced from fossil resources. Therefore, the objective was to develop an efficient method for oxidative cleavage, less expensive and less polluting than ozonolysis, the only operational industrial process. The selected oxidizing conditions employs hydrogen peroxide as oxidant, together with a phase transfer catalyst, without using an organic solvent. Several phase transfer catalysts Q3{PO4[WO(O2)2]4} were prepared from tungstophosphoric acid, hydrogen peroxide and a quaternary ammonium salt (Q+,Cl-), in order to compare their effectiveness in transferring oxygen to the substrate in the organic phase. An optimization of reaction parameters was carried out with the most performing catalyst. In addition, two protocols have been developed for the in-situ preparation of the catalyst and its recovery after reaction. The method was extended to fatty acids derivatives, in order to obtain other short chain acids, having a wide range of applications. The environmental benefits associated with this new method were evaluated by calculating green indicators. To consider an easier recycling of the catalyst, the oxodiperoxotungstate anion {PO4[WO(O2)2]4}3-, the active species of the catalyst was supported on anion-exchange resins. Two types of macroporous resins were tested: commercial resins (Amberlite IRA 900 and Lewatit K7367) and modified resins (type Merrifield). We showed that the modified resins, lead to the oxidative cleavage of oleic acid with higher yields than commercial ones, despite the presence of solvent. However, the immobilisation of the oxodiperoxtungstate anion on commercial resins allows the one-step synthesis of acetals, compounds of great interest for the synthesis of derivatives with a high added value. Using acetone as both reagent and solvent, we obtained good yields in ketal. Furthermore, the "one-pot" acetalization reaction of oleic acid was extended to other solvents (alcohols) as an opportunity to synthesize a wide range of acetals. The developed process is particularly interesting as it leads to the direct synthesis of ketal or acetals from an unsaturated fatty acid, avoiding the intermediate reaction steps

Neste trabalho foram estudadas reações de substituição nucleofílica alifática de seis substratos halogenados, na presença de sais quaternários de amônio quirais (catalisadores por transferência de fase), derivados de alcalóides naturais. O sistema usado durante os trabalhos foi o sólido-líquido, sendo utilizado o tolueno como solvente do substrato halogenado. Os eletrófilos escolhidos para este trabalho foram, em sua grande maioria, compostos halogenados na posição alfa à carbonila e o nucleófilo foi o fenilmercapteto de sódio. A estrutura do substratos, as condições de reação e o tipo de catalisador foram variados visando-se avaliar qual a melhor condição de interação entre o catalisador e o substrato, usando-se como parâmetro comparativo o excesso enantiomérico obtido em cada caso. Os substratos foram também colocados para reagir na ausência de catalisador (\"branco de reação\") para avaliar a possibilidade de haver reações não catalisadas competindo com a reação enantiosseletiva. Tais reações diminuiriam a enantiosseletividade do processo, o que tomou imprescindível determinar sua extensão. Métodos de análise do excesso enantiomérico dos produtos de reação obtidos, por CLAE utilizando fase estacionária quiral e/ou RMN de 1H na presença de reagentes de deslocamento quirais, foram desenvolvidos para cada caso. Os resultados experimentais permitiram propor e discutir um modelo de associação catalisador/tiolato/eletrófilo, baseado em interações do tipo &#960;-&#960; e ligação de hidrogênio. / The main focus of the present work was the investigation of some aliphatic nucleofilic substitution reactions of halogenated compounds in the presence of chiral phase transfer catalyst, in a solid-liquid two phase system, using toluene as solvent. Most electrophiles were carbonylic or carboxylic derivatives bearing a halogen atom in the a-position to the carbonyl group. As for the nucleophile, sodium thiophenolate was employed in all reactions. Factors such as molecular structure of the electrophile, reaction conditions and catalyst were varied in order to optimize product enantiomeric excesses, and to gain an insight into the mode of action of the chiral catalyst in the kinetic resolution. In all cases blank experiments in the absence of the catalyst were performed, considering the possibility of a competitive uncatalyzed reaction as being responsible for lower enantiomeric excesses. Methods for determining the enantiomeric excess, based on HPLC and/or 1H-NMR, were developed for each specific product. The mechanistic and geometrical factors responsible for the kinetic resolution are analyzed in each case. The structure of the catalyst/thiolate/electrofile is discussed in terms of hydrogen bonding and &#960;-&#960; interactions.

A presente tese trata das reações de sulfanilação de algumas 2-sulfinilciclanonas racêmicas pelo método de catálise por transferência de fase (CTF), seja usando cloreto de benziltrietilamônio (TEBAC) seja usando catalisador quirálico. As reações de sulfanilação pelo método de CTF empregando TEBAC, forneceram produtos sulfanilados em altos rendimentos (75-93%), enquanto que as reações empregando a mesma metodologia, utilizando catalisadores quirálicos, conduziram não só a altos rendimentos, mas também a um aumento no excesso diastereomérico. Foram determinadas as configurações relativas da 2metilsulfanil- 2-metilsulfinilciclopentanona e 2-p-tolilsulfanil-2metilsulfinilcicloexanona pela análise de difração de Raios-X como sendo 2S*SS*. A parte final da Tese contém reações de sulfanilação da 2-metilsulfinilciclopentanona e 2-metilsulfinilcicloexanona opticamente ativas. É digno de nota que estas, ao contrário da 2-p-tolilsulfinil ciclanonas, descritas na literatura, conduziram a produtos sulfanilados estáveis. Finalmente, a tese mostra um exemplo de condensação aldólica assimétrica partindo da 2-metilsulfanil-2-metilsulfinilcicloexanona opticamente ativa. Com base no conhecimento da configuração deste último composto, foi possível esclarecer o mecanismo da indução assimétrica. / This thesis presents the sulfanylation reactions of some racemic 2-methylsulfinil cyclanones, by phase transfer catalysis (PTC) method, employing as catalysts either benzyltriethylammonium chloride (BTAC) or some optically active catalysts. The sulfanilation reactions, employing BTAC furnished the sulfanylated products in high yields (75-93%) while the reactions performed by the same methodology, using chiral catalysts, led to higher yields and also to an increase in the diastereomeric excess. The relative configuration of 2-metilsulfanyl-2-methylsufinylcyclopentanone and of 2-p-tolylsulfanyl-2-methylsulfinylcyclohexanone, as determined by X-Ray diffraction analysis, showed to be 2S*SS*. The final part of this thesis reports the sulfanylation reactions of the optically active 2-methylsulfinylcyclopentanone and 2-methylsulfinylcyclohexanone, which, in contrast to the p-tolyl derivatives, described in the Iiterature, were stable derivatives. Finally, on the basis of the relative configuration of the optically active 2-methylsulfanyl-2-methylsulfinylcyclohexanone, it became possible to propose the stereochemical course of the asymmetric aldol reaction of this compound with an ester enolate.

Neste trabalho foram estudadas reações de substituição nucleofílica alifática de seis substratos halogenados, na presença de sais quaternários de amônio quirais (catalisadores por transferência de fase), derivados de alcalóides naturais. O sistema usado durante os trabalhos foi o sólido-líquido, sendo utilizado o tolueno como solvente do substrato halogenado. Os eletrófilos escolhidos para este trabalho foram, em sua grande maioria, compostos halogenados na posição alfa à carbonila e o nucleófilo foi o fenilmercapteto de sódio. A estrutura do substratos, as condições de reação e o tipo de catalisador foram variados visando-se avaliar qual a melhor condição de interação entre o catalisador e o substrato, usando-se como parâmetro comparativo o excesso enantiomérico obtido em cada caso. Os substratos foram também colocados para reagir na ausência de catalisador (\"branco de reação\") para avaliar a possibilidade de haver reações não catalisadas competindo com a reação enantiosseletiva. Tais reações diminuiriam a enantiosseletividade do processo, o que tomou imprescindível determinar sua extensão. Métodos de análise do excesso enantiomérico dos produtos de reação obtidos, por CLAE utilizando fase estacionária quiral e/ou RMN de 1H na presença de reagentes de deslocamento quirais, foram desenvolvidos para cada caso. Os resultados experimentais permitiram propor e discutir um modelo de associação catalisador/tiolato/eletrófilo, baseado em interações do tipo &#960;-&#960; e ligação de hidrogênio. / The main focus of the present work was the investigation of some aliphatic nucleofilic substitution reactions of halogenated compounds in the presence of chiral phase transfer catalyst, in a solid-liquid two phase system, using toluene as solvent. Most electrophiles were carbonylic or carboxylic derivatives bearing a halogen atom in the a-position to the carbonyl group. As for the nucleophile, sodium thiophenolate was employed in all reactions. Factors such as molecular structure of the electrophile, reaction conditions and catalyst were varied in order to optimize product enantiomeric excesses, and to gain an insight into the mode of action of the chiral catalyst in the kinetic resolution. In all cases blank experiments in the absence of the catalyst were performed, considering the possibility of a competitive uncatalyzed reaction as being responsible for lower enantiomeric excesses. Methods for determining the enantiomeric excess, based on HPLC and/or 1H-NMR, were developed for each specific product. The mechanistic and geometrical factors responsible for the kinetic resolution are analyzed in each case. The structure of the catalyst/thiolate/electrofile is discussed in terms of hydrogen bonding and &#960;-&#960; interactions.

Environmentally benign alternatives for solvents and catalysts are essential for the development of sustainable chemical processes. Toward this end, we focused our research on the design of novel solvents and catalysts that reduce the environmental impact of these important materials. In this research, we develop switchable and tunable systems that couple reaction and separation to ease the processing requirements for product isolation and catalyst recovery. The switchable solvents use a ¡°switch¡± to transition from non-volatile, polar, aprotic solvents to volatile gases that can be easily separated. This allows us to facilitate reactions within the solvent and then enable easy separation through activation of the switch. We have used these materials for numerous reaction applications, including difficult reactions involving highly immiscible compounds. We also extended the work to acid-catalyzed reactions, in which we can avoid wasteful neutralization processes that are often associated with homogeneous acid catalysis. The tunable solvents use carbon dioxide pressure to ¡°tune¡± into desired solvent properties. We enable this through the dissolution of carbon dioxide into organic solvents, which generates gas-expanded liquids with solvent properties highly dependent on the carbon dioxide pressure. We can use this effect to couple homogeneous reaction with heterogeneous separation, allowing for recovery of expensive catalysts and ligands. In this work, we assess the possibilities of using liquid polyethylene glycol in the tunable systems, studying the phase behavior and industrial applications.

A presente tese trata das reações de sulfanilação de algumas 2-sulfinilciclanonas racêmicas pelo método de catálise por transferência de fase (CTF), seja usando cloreto de benziltrietilamônio (TEBAC) seja usando catalisador quirálico. As reações de sulfanilação pelo método de CTF empregando TEBAC, forneceram produtos sulfanilados em altos rendimentos (75-93%), enquanto que as reações empregando a mesma metodologia, utilizando catalisadores quirálicos, conduziram não só a altos rendimentos, mas também a um aumento no excesso diastereomérico. Foram determinadas as configurações relativas da 2metilsulfanil- 2-metilsulfinilciclopentanona e 2-p-tolilsulfanil-2metilsulfinilcicloexanona pela análise de difração de Raios-X como sendo 2S*SS*. A parte final da Tese contém reações de sulfanilação da 2-metilsulfinilciclopentanona e 2-metilsulfinilcicloexanona opticamente ativas. É digno de nota que estas, ao contrário da 2-p-tolilsulfinil ciclanonas, descritas na literatura, conduziram a produtos sulfanilados estáveis. Finalmente, a tese mostra um exemplo de condensação aldólica assimétrica partindo da 2-metilsulfanil-2-metilsulfinilcicloexanona opticamente ativa. Com base no conhecimento da configuração deste último composto, foi possível esclarecer o mecanismo da indução assimétrica. / This thesis presents the sulfanylation reactions of some racemic 2-methylsulfinil cyclanones, by phase transfer catalysis (PTC) method, employing as catalysts either benzyltriethylammonium chloride (BTAC) or some optically active catalysts. The sulfanilation reactions, employing BTAC furnished the sulfanylated products in high yields (75-93%) while the reactions performed by the same methodology, using chiral catalysts, led to higher yields and also to an increase in the diastereomeric excess. The relative configuration of 2-metilsulfanyl-2-methylsufinylcyclopentanone and of 2-p-tolylsulfanyl-2-methylsulfinylcyclohexanone, as determined by X-Ray diffraction analysis, showed to be 2S*SS*. The final part of this thesis reports the sulfanylation reactions of the optically active 2-methylsulfinylcyclopentanone and 2-methylsulfinylcyclohexanone, which, in contrast to the p-tolyl derivatives, described in the Iiterature, were stable derivatives. Finally, on the basis of the relative configuration of the optically active 2-methylsulfanyl-2-methylsulfinylcyclohexanone, it became possible to propose the stereochemical course of the asymmetric aldol reaction of this compound with an ester enolate.

La synthèse de phosphines secondaires borane dérivées d’aminoacides ou de dipeptides, et leur application pour la préparation de ligands ou le greffage du fullerène, est décrite. Elle se fait sans racémisation avec des rendements atteignant 98%, par alkylation de phosphines borane primaires avec un dérivé γ-iodo aminoacide, dans les conditions de transfert de phase. Les diphosphines tertiaires dérivées d’aminoacides, obtenues après une seconde alkylation avec des rendements atteignant 70%, sont parmi les premiers exemples de diphosphines greffées par une liaison P-C sur la chaine latérale d’un aminoacide. Les mono et diphosphines dérivées d’aminoacides ont été testées en catalyse d’allylation ou d’hydrogénation asymétriques catalysées par des complexes de palladium ou de rhodium. D’un autre côté, un complexe de cis platine a été préparé à partir d'une diphosphine dérivée d'un aminoester. Ses propriétés cytotoxiques ont été testées sur des lignées cellulaires ovariennes cancéreuses A2780. Dans une seconde partie les phosphines secondaires borane d’aminoacides et de peptides ont été utilisées pour le greffage du fullerène, par hydrophosphination en transfert de phase. L’étude électrochimique du dérivé fullerène d’aminoester de benzyle, a permis d’établir que ce composé se décomposait par électrolyse, avec coupure de la liaison P-C, pour libérer le fullerène et la phosphine secondaire borane aminoester. Ces travaux ouvrent de nouvelles perspectives pour la chimie des dérivés phosphines ou fullerène d'aminoacides et de peptides. / The synthesis of secondary phosphine borane amino acids or dipeptides and their applications for the preparation of chiral ligands or for the grafting of fullerene, is described. These compounds were synthesized in good yield (up to 98%) without racemization. The principle of the synthesis is based on the alkylation of primary phosphine borane with a γ-iodo amino acid using phase transfer conditions. Tertiary diphosphine amino acids are obtained with 70% yield after a second alkylation. These compounds are one of the first examples of diphosphine grafted with a P-C bond on the side chain of amino acid. First of all, mono and diphosphine amino acid derivatives were used in asymmetric allylic substitution with palladium precursor or in asymmetric hydrogenation with rhodium precursor. In another hand, a cis platinum complex was synthesized with 60% yield from the diphosphine amino acid derivative. The cytotoxic properties of this complex were tested against human ovarian carcinogenic cell lines A2780. In the second part, the secondary phosphine borane amino acids and peptides have been used for grafting fullerene C60 by hydrophosphination using phase transfer conditions. The electrochemical study of the fullerene amino benzyl ester derivative has shown the cleavage of the P-C60 bond by electrolysis, affording the free fullerene and the secondary phosphine borane amino ester moiety. This work opens new perspectives for the chemistry of fullerene and phosphine derivatives of amino acids and peptides.

L’organocatalyse est reconnue comme une approche attractive dans la synthèse énantiosélective, offrant de nombreux avantages par rapport à la métallo-catalyse et biocatalyse. Dans la première partie de cette thèse, nous nous sommes intéressés dans le développement de nouveaux catalyseurs tropos de transfert de phase, basée sur les dérivés de dibenzazepinium et leurs applications en synthèse asymétrique. Nous avons mis en évidence la possibilité d’utiliser le principe de transfert de chiralité centrale-axiale. La deuxième partie de cette thèse a été consacrée à l'élaboration de méthodologies organocatalytiques en utilisant la catalyse par transfert de phase ou de base de Brønsted. Notre nouvelle approche, basée des réactions organocatalytiques de cycloaddition formelles [3 + 2], ouvre l'accès aux différents cycles chiraux comme des cyclopentènes, pyrrolidines ou isoxazolidinones. Toutes ces molécules sont potentiellement intéressantes pour leur évaluation comme des ligands bioactif. / Organocatalysis is recognized as a versatile and attractive tool in enantioselective synthesis, offering a number of advantages over metal-based and bioorganic methods. During the first part of this thesis, we were interested in development of novel tropos Phase-Transfer catalysts, based on the dibenzazepinium derivatives and their applications in asymmetric synthesis. Their design was tackled by anoriginal central-axial chirality transfer principal. The second part of this thesis was devoted to the elaboration of novel organocatalytic methodologies under chiral PTC or Brønsted base organocatalysis. Based on formal organocatalytic [3+2]cycloaddition reactions our novel approach opens the access to various chiral cycles like cyclopentenes, pyrrolidines or isoxazolidinones. All these molecules are potentially interesting for their evaluation as bio-ligands.