The present work describes the design and synthesis of a series of dimers [(η5 - ring)MCl]2(μ2 -Cl)2, (where (η5 -ring)MCl = (η5 -Me4C5R)Rh(III)Cl or (η5 -Me4C5R)Ir(III)Cl). Iridium and rhodium dimeric complexes were synthesized via a microwave reaction and directly compared through single-crystal X-ray crystallography. Finally, the dimeric complexes were evaluated as potential oxidation catalysts. The modified HCp*R (R = isopropyl, n-butyl, isobutyl, sec-butyl, n-pentyl, n-hexyl, nheptyl, n-octyl, phenyl, benzyl, phenethyl, cyclohexyl, and cyclopentyl) type ligands were synthesized by reaction of 2,3,4,5-tetramethylcyclopent-2-en-1-one with the respective Grignard reagent (RMgX), followed by elimination of water under acidic conditions to produce the tetramethyl(alkyl or aryl)cyclopentadienes in moderate to excellent yields (39 - 98%). Reaction of the HCp*R ligands with [M(COD)](μ2 -Cl)2 (M = Rh, Ir; COD = 1,5-cyclooctadiene) gave the dimeric complexes [Cp*RMCl]2(μ2 -Cl)2 in yields ranging from 16 - 96%. The dimers were characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)spectroscopy, single-crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD) (supplemented by powder XRD), high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS), and elemental analysis. Complexes studied by XRD were analyzed to understand the bond lengths and bond angles throughout each complex. The dimeric complexes synthesized, will facilitate a complete study on how the R group influences catalytic activity. / Master of Science

This dissertation describes the design and synthesis of a series of half-sandwich amino acid complexes of the form), (aa = α-amino carboxylate), and their utility as asymmetric transfer hydrogenation catalysts of ketones. Variation of the metal center, the n-ring, and the aa was used to tune these systems for specific sets of ketones. Upon reaction with homochiral]s, the ligand environment in all of these complexes is pseudotetrahedral, leading to stereogenic metal ions (SM, RM). The addition of another stereogenic center from the amino acid ligand (the carbon, RC or SC;glycine) gives rise to two pairs of diastereomeric complexes. / Ph. D.