| Summary: | After spending so many years in the shadow of magnesium chemistry the chemical abilities of the heavier alkaline earth metals, calcium, strontium and barium are beginning to emerge. This thesis is concerned with the development of a catalytic reactivity for the heavier alkaline earth metals. By taking inspiration from lanthanide metal catalysis, this thesis will begin by describing the hydroamination and hydrophosphination of unsaturated molecules catalysed by lanthanide and group 2 metals before extending this work to the group 2 catalysed hydroacetylation of terminal acetylenes (chapter 2), and the insertion of unsaturated bonds of carbodiimides (chapter 4), and organic isocyanates (chapter 5) into the polarised M-C bonds of group 2 acetylides. The third chapter of this thesis will describe the observation of the first acetylide coupling with a group 2 metal complex and extension of this reactivity to a catalytic process.
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