| Summary: | Thesis advisor: Amir H. Hoveyda === Chapter 1. The development of chiral monodentate N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) is presented. Structurally varied twenty-eight new chiral imidazolinim salts, NHC precursors, were synthesized and characterized. Chapter 2. The first example of Cu-catalyzed enantioselective conjugate additions of alkyl- and arylzinc reagents to unactivated cyclic enones is presented. Transformations are promoted in the presence of 2.5-15 mol % of a readily available chiral NHC-based Cu complex, affording the desired products bearing all-carbon quaternary stereogenic centers in 67-98% yield and in up to 97% ee. Catalytic enantioselective reactions can be carried out on a benchtop, with undistilled solvent and commercially available (not further purified) Cu salts. Chapter 3. A new class of enantioselective conjugate addition (ECA) reactions that involve aryl- or alkenylsilylfluoride reagents and are catalyzed by chiral non-C2-symmetric Cu-based NHC complexes are presented. Transformations have been designed based on the principle that a catalytically active chiral NHC-Cu-aryl or NHC-Cu-alkenyl complex can be accessed from reaction of a Cu-halide precursor with in situ-generated aryl- or alkenyl-tetrafluorosilicate. Reactions proceed in the presence of 1.5 equivalents of the aryl- or alkenylsilane reagents and 1.5 equivalents of tris(dimethylamino)sulfonium difluorotrimethylsilicate. Desired products are isolated in 63-97% yield and 73.5:26.5-98.5:1.5 enantiomeric ratio (47%-97% ee). Chapter 4. An efficient Cu-catalyzed protocol for enantioselective addition of a dimethylphenylsilanyl group to a wide range of cyclic and acyclic unsaturated ketones, esters, acrylonitriles and dienones is presented. Reactions are performed in the presence of 1-5 mol % of commercially available and inexpensive CuCl, a readily accessible monodentate imidazolinium salt as well as commercially available (dimethylphenylsilyl)pinacolatoboron. Cu-catalyzed 1,4- and 1,6-conjugate additions afford the enantiomerically enriched silanes in 72%-98% yield and 90:10->99:1 enantiomeric ratio (er) with up to >25:1 of Z:E selectivity. Chapter 5. A Cu-catalyzed method for enantioselective boronate conjugate additions to trisubstituted alkenes of acyclic a,b-unsaturated carboxylic esters, ketones, and thioesters is presented. All transformations are promoted by 5 mol % of a chiral monodentate NHC-Cu complex, derived from a readily available C1-symmetric imidazolinium salt, and in the presence of commercially available bis(pinacolato)diboron. Reactions are efficient (typically, 60% to >98% yield after purification) and deliver the desired boryl carbonyls in up to >98:2 enantiomer ratio (er). In addition, metal-free, nucleophilic activation of a B-B bond has been exploited in the development of a highly efficient method for conjugate additions of commercially available bis(pinacolato)diboron to cyclic or acyclic a,b-unsaturated carbonyls. Reactions are readily catalyzed by 2.5-10 mol % of a simple NHC. A variety of cyclic and acyclic unsaturated ketones and esters can serve as substrates. Transformations deliver boryl carbonyls bearing tertiary as well as quaternary B-substituted carbons in up to >98% yield. === Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2010. === Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. === Discipline: Chemistry.
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