Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Catalytic hydroamination'

Doctor of Philosophy(PhD),
This thesis describes the synthesis of terminal and internal amino and amidoalkynes and their hydroamination (cyclisation) catalysed by the complex (bis(N-methylimidazol-2-yl)methane)dicarbonylrhodium(I) tetraphenylborate (1). A series of analogous palladium complexes were also prepared and investigated for catalytic hydroamination. The scope of the rhodium(I) complex (1) for the intramolecular hydroamination of more complex amino and amidoalkyne substrates was investigated. This was made possible with the synthesis of aliphatic substrates, namely, 4 pentyn 1 amide (3) and 5 hexyn 1 amide (4) and a number of aromatic substrates, namely, 1, 4 diamino-2, 5 diethynylbenzene (5), 1, 4-diamino-2, 5 bis(phenylethynyl)benzene (6), 2, 3-diamino-1, 4-diethynylbenzene (7), 2, 3-diamino-1, 4-bis(phenylethynyl)benzene (8), 1, 5-bis(acetamido)-2, 4-diethynylbenzene (9), N-(acetyl)-2-ethynylbenzylamine (10) and N-(acetyl)-2-(phenylethynyl)benzylamine (11). The rhodium(I) complex (1) catalytically cyclised the aliphatic 4 pentyn 1 amide (3) regioselectively to the 6 membered ring, 3, 4 dihydro 2 pyridone (64) as the sole product. Attempts to cyclise 5 hexyn 1 amide (4) to produce either the 6 or 7 membered ring were unsuccessful. Compounds 5, 6, 7 and 8 were doubly cyclised to 1, 5 dihydro pyrrolo[2, 3 f]indole (71), 1, 5-dihydro-2, 6-diphenyl-pyrrolo[2, 3 f]indole (73), 1, 8-dihydro-pyrrolo[2, 3 g]indole (74) and 1, 8-dihydro-2, 7-diphenyl-pyrrolo[2, 3 g]indole (75) respectively. The aromatic amides with terminal acetylenes 9 and 10 cyclised to give 1, 7 diacetyl pyrrolo[3, 2 f]indole (76) and N (acetyl) 1, 2 dihydroisoquinoline (77) respectively. However, attempts to cyclise 11 were unsuccessful. Thus the rhodium(I) complex (1) successfully catalysed via hydroamination both terminal and internal acetylenic amine and amide substrates, to give pyridones, indoles and isoquinolines. Cationic and neutral palladium complexes incorporating the bidentate heterocyclic nitrogen donor ligand bis(N-methylimidazol-2-yl)methane (bim; 2) were synthesised: [Pd(bim)Cl2] (15), [Pd(bim)2][BF4]2 (17) [Pd(bim)(Cl)(CH3)] (14), [Pd(bim)(CH3)(NCCH3)][BF4] (16). All of the complexes were active as catalysts for the intramolecular hydroamination reaction, using the cyclisation of 4 pentyn 1 amine (21) to 2 methyl 1 pyrroline (22) as the model test reaction. Percentage conversions, turnover numbers and reaction profiles for each complex were compared to the rhodium(I) complex (1). These studies have shown that the catalytic activity was not significantly dependent on the bim donor ligand or the choice of metal. Substitution of the bim (2) ligand with the COD ligand and the use of methanol as the solvent did impact significantly on the efficiency of the hydroamination reactions.

This thesis describes the synthesis of terminal and internal amino and amidoalkynes and their hydroamination (cyclisation) catalysed by the complex (bis(N-methylimidazol-2-yl)methane)dicarbonylrhodium(I) tetraphenylborate (1). A series of analogous palladium complexes were also prepared and investigated for catalytic hydroamination. The scope of the rhodium(I) complex (1) for the intramolecular hydroamination of more complex amino and amidoalkyne substrates was investigated. This was made possible with the synthesis of aliphatic substrates, namely, 4 pentyn 1 amide (3) and 5 hexyn 1 amide (4) and a number of aromatic substrates, namely, 1, 4 diamino-2, 5 diethynylbenzene (5), 1, 4-diamino-2, 5 bis(phenylethynyl)benzene (6), 2, 3-diamino-1, 4-diethynylbenzene (7), 2, 3-diamino-1, 4-bis(phenylethynyl)benzene (8), 1, 5-bis(acetamido)-2, 4-diethynylbenzene (9), N-(acetyl)-2-ethynylbenzylamine (10) and N-(acetyl)-2-(phenylethynyl)benzylamine (11). The rhodium(I) complex (1) catalytically cyclised the aliphatic 4 pentyn 1 amide (3) regioselectively to the 6 membered ring, 3, 4 dihydro 2 pyridone (64) as the sole product. Attempts to cyclise 5 hexyn 1 amide (4) to produce either the 6 or 7 membered ring were unsuccessful. Compounds 5, 6, 7 and 8 were doubly cyclised to 1, 5 dihydro pyrrolo[2, 3 f]indole (71), 1, 5-dihydro-2, 6-diphenyl-pyrrolo[2, 3 f]indole (73), 1, 8-dihydro-pyrrolo[2, 3 g]indole (74) and 1, 8-dihydro-2, 7-diphenyl-pyrrolo[2, 3 g]indole (75) respectively. The aromatic amides with terminal acetylenes 9 and 10 cyclised to give 1, 7 diacetyl pyrrolo[3, 2 f]indole (76) and N (acetyl) 1, 2 dihydroisoquinoline (77) respectively. However, attempts to cyclise 11 were unsuccessful. Thus the rhodium(I) complex (1) successfully catalysed via hydroamination both terminal and internal acetylenic amine and amide substrates, to give pyridones, indoles and isoquinolines. Cationic and neutral palladium complexes incorporating the bidentate heterocyclic nitrogen donor ligand bis(N-methylimidazol-2-yl)methane (bim; 2) were synthesised: [Pd(bim)Cl2] (15), [Pd(bim)2][BF4]2 (17) [Pd(bim)(Cl)(CH3)] (14), [Pd(bim)(CH3)(NCCH3)][BF4] (16). All of the complexes were active as catalysts for the intramolecular hydroamination reaction, using the cyclisation of 4 pentyn 1 amine (21) to 2 methyl 1 pyrroline (22) as the model test reaction. Percentage conversions, turnover numbers and reaction profiles for each complex were compared to the rhodium(I) complex (1). These studies have shown that the catalytic activity was not significantly dependent on the bim donor ligand or the choice of metal. Substitution of the bim (2) ligand with the COD ligand and the use of methanol as the solvent did impact significantly on the efficiency of the hydroamination reactions.

Hydroamination is the addition of an N–H bond across a C–C multiple bond. Nitrogen containing small molecules, typically accessed through multi-step synthetic pathways, are greatly important to both the pharmaceutical and fine chemical industries. Hydroamination is a rapidly expanding field due to the recent emphasis on sustainable chemistry for industrial applications as it provides an atom economical route to N-heterocycles, imines and amines. Group 4 catalysts have been greatly successful in this area however, intramolecular hydroamination of aminoalkenes typically proceeds only under high temperature reaction conditions. Low temperature reactivity is preferred from a practical perspective and is targeted here as a valuable probe to identify precatalysts most likely to display intermolecular alkene reactivity. The facile synthesis of organic amides provides a desirable means to adjust and optimize the steric and electronic properties of the proligand framework. Trifluoromethyl groups have been identified as desirable electron-withdrawing ligand substituents for the generation of reactive electrophilic zirconium hydroamination precatalysts. Proligand synthetic investigations revealed unforeseen challenges due to the electronic and steric effects imparted by trifluoromethyl substituents and unfortunately, the attractive 2,4,6-tris(trifluoromethyl) aryl-amides are of limited practical usefulness. In complex synthesis, the structure, bonding and reactivity screening of these novel electrophilic zirconium complexes will be presented as well as challenges associated with increased solubility. Importantly, these fluorinated systems have been shown to enhance reactivity of zirconium bis(amidate)bis(amido) complexes in the intramolecular hydroamination of alkenes. Progress toward low temperature (65 °C) reactivity will be discussed.

The research presented in this thesis emphasizes the versatility and utility of N,O-chelated early transition metals for the catalytic synthesis of -alkylated amines. Two major transformations were studied extensively in this work, hydroamination and hydroaminoalkylation. For both reactions, the synthetic utility and substrate scope has been expanded by the work presented herein. In the field of hydroamination, N-heterocycles with more than one heteroatom can now be synthesized using early transition metal catalysts from prochiral substrates. Hydroamination with a bis(amidate)bis(amido) complex of titanium of ether-containing aminoalkyne substrates yield cyclic imines, which are subsequently reduced via asymmetric transfer hydrogenation using the Noyori-Ikariya catalyst, RuCl [(S,S)-Ts-DPEN] (η⁶-p-cymene). 3-Substituted morpholines are synthesized using a one-pot sequential catalysis protocol, in good yields and high enantiomeric excesses. Substrate scope investigations reveal that high enantioselectivities in the asymmetric transfer hydrogenation reaction arise from key hydrogen bonding interactions between the oxygen heteroatom of the ether-containing cyclic imine and the [(S,S)-Ts-DPEN] ligand of Noyori-Ikariya catalyst. This mechanistic insight informed the proposal that this synthetic strategy can be extended to other substrates containing functional groups with hydrogen bond acceptors. As such, 3-substituted piperazines are also prepared with high enantioselectivities using this one-pot protocol. Advances to the hydroaminoalkylation transformation have also been made with the first reported example of room temperature reactivity observed using a phosphoramidate-tantalum complex. The preparation and characterization of a series of N,O-chelated phosphoramidate-tantalum complexes is described. These complexes were easily synthesized from either Ta(NMe₂)₅ by protonolysis or a simple organometallic precursor, TaMe₃Cl₂, by salt metathesis. Reactivity towards catalytic hydroaminoalkylation was explored and the results highlight that the choice of tantalum starting material dramatically affects the reaction temperatures required for catalytic turnover. N,O-chelated phosphoramidate dimethylamido tantalum complexes showed reactivity occurred only at elevated temperatures (≥ 90 °C), whereas phosphoramidate-tantalum complexes derived from TaMe₃Cl₂ exhibited unprecedented catalytic activity at room temperature. Preliminary efforts indicate that there is potential for an asymmetric version of hydroaminoalkylation at room temperature. Chiral phosphoramidate-tantalum complexes were prepared and studied as the first examples of asymmetric hydroaminoalkylation reactions at room temperature.
Science, Faculty of
Chemistry, Department of
Graduate

Amines are valuable targets for synthesis in contexts of both research and industrial applications. This work proposes two atom-economical methods—hydroamination (HAM) and hydroimination (HIM)—as C-N bond formation strategies. A nickel-(N-heterocyclic carbene) catalyst system was developed to carry out HAM of internal, unactivated alkynes with aryl amines and cyclic secondary amines. It was demonstrated that the Ni-NHC catalyst was capable of promoting both HAM at room temperature and transfer hydrogenation to produce α-branched aryl amines. These two procedures were performed by the same catalyst to demonstrate an elegant 1-pot, multi-transformation protocol. Separately, optimization of a Rh-HIM catalyst system for the combination of monosubstituted allenes and aromatic N-H-ketimine was carried out to favor high conversion of substrates to the linear HIM product rather than [3+2] annulation. Both HAM and HIM C-N bond formation methods were found to be successful and capable of good conversion and selectivity for their respective products.
NSF (CHE-1301409 to R.M.) and ND-EPSCoR (RII-1330840)

This thesis discusses the synthesis, characterisation, and reactivity studies of a range of new chiral calcium complexes supported by various polydentate N-donor ligands and their suitability as catalysts for intramolecular hydroamination. Chapter One outlines the case for developing organocalcium complexes, including a general overview of their current application to a variety of heterofunctionalisation reactions. Chapter Two introduces the chiral ethylene diamines which are extensively used as calcium supporting ligands and later as precursors for the synthesis of bisimidazoline and potential imoxazoline ligands. Chapter Two provides details of the diamine synthesis and includes studies related to racemisation concerns of the chiral centre. Chapter Three discusses novel calcium complexes supported by the chiral ethylene diamine analogues presented in Chapter Two. Complex synthesis, characterisation, and catalytic performance in intramolecular hydroamination is probed and discussed. Chapter Four details a range of new bisimidazoline ligands and their employment as supporting ligands on calcium. The catalytic performance of the resulting complexes in intramolecular hydroamination is subsequently analysed and discussed. Chapter Five investigates the attempted development of a total synthetic pathway to a new class of imoxazoline ligand and related issues. Chapter Six contains all experimental procedures, characterising data pertaining to all new compounds and complexes presented in this Thesis. Appendices A-K contain additional catalytic figures and tables of crystallographic data for all new crystallographically characterised compounds. Summary sheets of every literature and new compound presented mentioned in this Thesis are also included, along with copies of both printed publications resulting from this Thesis at the time of submission.

A series of bidentate amidate ligands with variable groups R' and R" abbreviated by [R"(NO)R'] and adamantyl substituted tetradentate amidate ligands abbreviated by Ad[0₂N₂] were utilized as ancillaries for Ti, Zr, and Hf. Protonolysis routes into homoleptic amidate complexes, tris(amidate) mono(amido), bis(amidate) bis(amido), and bis(amidate) dibenzyl complexes are high yielding when performed with tetrakis(amido) and tetrabenzyl group 4 starting materials. Many of these complexes have been characterized in both the solid-state and in the solution phase, where in the latter case these complexes are fluxional and undergo exchange processes. Multiple geometric isomers are possible with the mixed N,0 chelate provided by the amidate ligands, and geometric isomerization of bis(amidate) bis(amido) complexes has been examined through X-ray crystallographic and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Isomerization is dictated largely by the steric bulk present at the N of the amidate ligands, and is proposed to proceed through a K²-K¹-K² ligand isomerization mechanism, which is supported by crystallographic evidence of K¹-bound amidate ligands. The amidate ligand system binds to these metals in a largely electrostatic fashion, with poor orbital overlap, generating highly electrophilic metal centers. The bis(amidate) dibenzyl complexes of Zr and Hf are reactive towards insertion, abstraction, and protonolysis. Insertion of isocyanides into the Zr-C bonds of [DMP(NO) tBu]₂Zr(CH₂Ph₂ results in the formation of ƞ₂-iminoacyl complexes, which can either undergo thermally induced C=C coupling to generate an enediamido complex (aryl isocyanides), or rearrange to generate a bis(amidate) bis(vinylamido) complex (alkyl isocyanides). Benzyl abstraction to generate cationic Zr bis(amidate) benzyl complexes is also possible through reaction with [Ph₃C][B(C₆F₅)4] or B(C₆F₅)₃ Terminal imido complexes with novel pyramidal geometries are generated through protonolysis of bis(amidate) bis(amido) Ti and Zr complexes with primary aryl amines. DFT calculations demonstrate the existence of a Zr⁻₌N triple bond for these complexes. Dimeric imido complexes have been characterized in the solid state, but are not maintained in solution. Cycloaddition reactions of the terminal Zr imido complexes with C=0 bonds result in the formation of proposed oxo complexes and organic metathesis products. Catalytic aminoalkene cyclohydroamination has also been realized with these complexes, generating N-heterocyclic products. A series of kinetic and labeling studies support an imido-cycloaddition mechanism for catalytic cyclohydroamination of primary aminoalkenes with neutral bis(amidate) Ti and Zr precatalysts. The intermediate Ti imido complex, K²-[Dipp(NO)tBu-K¹_[DiPP(No) tBu]Ti=NCH₂CPh₂CH₂CH=CH₂(NHMe₂), has been isolated and characterized in the solid-state and in solution. Amine stabilized imido complexes of this type are invoked as the resting state for the catalytic reaction, and solution phase data support a chair-like geometry, where the alkene is coordinated to the metal center. A diastereoselectivity study supports this proposed solution structure. Eyring and Arrhenius parameters, as well as isolation of a 7-coordinate model imido complex, support a seven-coordinate transition state for the rate-determining metallacycle protonolysis reaction. In contrast, secondary aminoalkene hydroamination catalysis with cationic Zr benzyl complexes is proposed to proceed through a σ-bond insertion mechanism. Proton loss from cationic Zr amido complexes to generate imido species is proposed with primary aminoalkenes, and the resultant neutral imido complexes can catalyze the cyclization of these substrates by the aforementioned imido-cycloaddition mechanism. The ability of the amidate ligand system to promote both mechanisms is unique in the field of alkene hydroamination catalysis.

The research described here explores the ability of dual H-bond donor catalysts to induce asymmetry in a variety of synthetically useful transformations that proceed via diverse reactive intermediates. In Chapters 1-3, we investigate ureas and thioureas as anion-binding catalysts for asymmetric reactions that proceeed via cationic intermediates with little precedent as electrophiles in asymmetric catalysis. Chapter 4 details our application of H-bond donor catalysis to the Cope-type hydroamination. Chapter 1 describes the development of an asymmetric aldehyde alkylation catalyzed by a bifunctional primary aminothiourea. A variety of 2-aryl propionaldehydes are alkylated with benzhydryl bromides in moderate to good yields and good enantioselectivities. Catalyst structure-activity relationship studies of the alkylation pointed towards electrophile activation by the dual H-bond donor moiety. Experiments aimed at gaining a better understanding of the electophile activation mode and characterizing the activated electrophilic intermediate in the alkylation reaction are described in Chapter 2. The development of an enantioselective cyanide addition to N,N-dialkyliminium intermediates is the subject of Chapter 3. A variety of strategies for accessing N,N- dialkyliminium ions are established, and chiral thioureas are shown to promote the addition of cyanide to such intermediates with moderate enantioselectivities. Chapter 4 details our discovery that thioureas bearing polarizable and conformationally constrained aromatic groups catalyze highly enantioselective Cope-type hydroaminations. This powerful transformation provides a variety of chiral pyrrolidine products under mild reaction conditions.
Chemistry and Chemical Biology

Hydroamination stands as a desirable approach to nitrogen-containing molecules, which have important applications ranging from pharmaceuticals (fine chemicals) to paints, coatings, insecticides and agrochemicals (bulk chemicals). It features the use of alkene and alkyne starting materials, which are abundant and rarely used in the formation of C-N bonds. This work aims at building on the improved Cope-type reactivity developed in the Beauchemin group by expanding the reach of the reaction and understanding its mechanistic complexities. The first part of this thesis describes the development of cascade reactions to provide a thermodynamic driving force for the intermolecular Cope-type hydroamination of alkenes. The methodology serves as a proof of concept that the dipolar reaction intermediates can be engineered to further react irreversibly to more stable products, and has shown potential in improving the syntheses of natural alkaloids. The second part of the thesis describes the expansion of Cope-type hydrazide hydroaminations through a systematic investigation of hydrazine analogs as reactants. Optimized reagents are featured in the first reported intermolecular Cope-type hydrohydrazidation of alkenes. Mechanistic investigations and isolation of ammonium ylide intermediates support a 5-membered concerted and planar mechanistic pathway for hydrazide hydroaminations, similar to that observed with hydroxylamines. The final section presents mechanistic data disproving a previously assumed difficult proton transfer step in the hydroamination using hydroxylamines. From such findings, early results are presented towards a hydrogen-bond catalyzed hydroamination, which has potential applicability across the field of Cope-type hydroaminations and beyond.

Hydroamination reactions are very attractive to form new C-N bonds, though broadly applicable synthetic methods do not exist. The hydroamination of unactivated alkenes is especially difficult to accomplish given its negative reaction entropy, as well as potentially being a thermodynamically unfavourable transformation with some substrates. Thus, previously reported systems have often consisted of biased intramolecular systems or metal-catalyzed intermolecular variations operating at low temperatures. Recently, our group discovered that intermolecular Cope-type hydroamination of unactivated alkenes is achievable through the use of aldehydes as catalysts. These organocatalysts act solely through promoting the pre-association of reacting partners, hydroxylamines and allyl amines, in order to induce temporary intramolecularity; thus allowing for very mild reaction conditions and access to important 1,2-Diamine motifs. This thesis presents studies expanding upon initial reports of aldehyde-catalyzed Cope-type intermolecular hydroamination. In the scope of these studies standard conditions were developed to compare aldehyde catalytic activity. These evaluations led to further strengthening our understanding of hypothesized trends in aldehydes’ catalytic efficiencies, notably the impact of electronic, steric and solvent effects. Furthermore, the possibility of using a catalytic precursor species for hydroamination was evaluated. While this symmetrical hydroxylamine dimer precursor did not result in increased hydroamination yields, it did allow for easier manipulations as well as allow preliminary kinetic isotope effect studies to study formaldehyde as a precatalyst. These KIE studies allowed to reconfirm that hydroamination was highly likely the rate determining step of our proposed catalytic cycle. Derivatization of hydroamination products was also accomplished to access important 1,2 Diamine motifs from simple starting materials, also allowing to access difficult hydroamination products through the application of quantitative amounts of aldehyde, followed by hydrolysis of the formed heterocycles. Additional studies into nitrone reactivity led us to access a novel synthesis of enantiomerically enriched chiral cyclic nitrones through a sequence of nucleophilic addition, Cope-type hydroamination and Cope elimination. However, this sequence proved unpractical and of very narrow applicability, while affording only modest enantioselectivities (up to 78% ee), therefore further exploration was not warranted. A collaborative study was also undertaken in collaboration with the Wennemers group from ETH Zurich. This exploratory study had the goal of examining the potential for combining small peptide catalysis with aldehyde catalysis inducing temporary intramolecularity. It was hypothesized that the combination of both catalytic systems could improve upon the conjugate addition of nucleophiles to certain electrophiles, such as nitroolefins; in a potentially stereoselective manner. Although initial trials did not yield productive reactions, evidence for potential new mixed aminals with formaldehyde and various nucleophiles was found. Furthermore, the background reactivity of various nucleophile and electrophile pairings was assessed, allowing for better calibration of future efforts in studying such systems.

Les motifs azotés sont présents dans de nombreuses molécules d’intérêts pharmaceutiques. Les méthodes de synthèses traditionnelles de ces motifs vont, par exemple, de la substitution nucléophile d’amines sur des halogénures d’alkyles à de l’amination réductrice des composés carbonylés. Ces méthodes, bien qu’efficaces, nécessitent néanmoins des quantités stœchiométriques de réactifs pour être appliquées et génèrent souvent des quantités importantes de déchets. Un des challenges de la chimie organique moderne consiste à développer de nouvelles méthodes de synthèses de ces motifs plus économiques et plus respectueuses de l’environnement en produisant un taux de déchets le plus faible possible. L’addition directe d’une amine sur une double liaison carbone-carbone non-activée que l’on appelle la réaction d’hydroamination des alcènes est une approche très prometteuse pour le développement d’une méthodologie de synthèse alternative de ces composés. En effet, dans cette réaction, tous les atomes du substrat de départ sont transférés au produit réduisant ainsi considérablement les déchets produits. De plus, les amines et les oléfines employées sont des réactifs relativement bon marché, abondants et variés. Néanmoins, cette transformation a priori simple nécessite généralement l’emploi d’un catalyseur. Dans la littérature, la réaction d’hydroamination des alcènes a été étudiée en utilisant comme catalyseur des complexes de métaux alcalins, alcalino-terreux, de terre-rares et de métaux de transition. Au commencement de ce projet, il n’existait pas d’exemples de réaction d’hydroamination des alcènes mettant en jeu des amines primaires non protégées catalysée par des complexes de fer ou de de cobalt. Dans ce contexte, notre équipe s’est intéressée à la réactivité de complexes de fer(II) et de cobalt(II) de basse valence stabilisés par des ligands de type β-dicétiminate. Ces complexes se sont révélés être d’excellents catalyseurs pour promouvoir la réaction d’hydroamination des amines primaires non protégées liées à des alcènes non activés.Dans un premier temps, les synthèses des complexes de fer(II) et de cobalt(II) alkyles stabilisés par des ligands β-dicétiminates ainsi que leurs applications en réaction de cyclohydroamination des amines primaires non protégées seront présentées. De plus, des études mécanistiques poussées permettront d’éclaircir le mécanisme de la réaction, qui est proposé de passer par une étape élémentaire clé d’insertion 1,2 migratoire aboutissant à la formation d’une liaison carbone-azote.Dans un second temps, les influences des propriétés électroniques et stériques des ligands sur la réactivité en réaction d’hydroamination des alcènes des complexes de fer(II) alkyles seront étudiées. Nous nous attarderons particulièrement sur des complexes stabilisés par des ligands β-dicétiminates dissymétriques ou iminoanilidures. Les données cristallographiques des complexes à l’état solide permettront alors de rationaliser les variations de réactivités de ces différents complexes.Enfin, les complexes de fer(II) et de cobalt(II) synthétisés précédemment seront exploités pour développer de nouvelles réactivités en réactions d’oxydation, d’amination oxydante ou de création de liaison azote-silicium par un couplage déshydrogénant
The nitrogenous units are present in many molecules of pharmaceutical interest. The traditional synthesis methods of these units range, for example, from the nucleophilic substitution of amines on alkyl halides to reductive amination of the carbonyl compounds. These methods, although effective, nevertheless require stoichiometric amounts of reagents to be applied and often generate large amounts of waste. One of the challenges of modern organic chemistry is to develop new methods of synthesizing these more economical and environmentally friendly patterns by producing the lowest waste rate possible. The direct addition of an amine to an unactivated carbon-carbon double bond known as the alkene hydroamination reaction is a very promising approach for the development of an alternative synthesis methodology for these compounds. Indeed, in this reaction, all the atoms of the starting substrate are transferred to the product thus considerably reducing the waste produced. In addition, the amines and olefins employed are relatively inexpensive, abundant and varied reagents. Nevertheless, this simple transformation generally requires the use of a catalyst. In the literature, the hydroamination reaction of alkenes has been studied using alkali metal, alkaline earth, rare earth and transition metal complexes as catalysts. At the beginning of this project there were no examples of the hydroamination reaction of alkenes involving unprotected primary amines catalysed by iron or cobalt complexes. In this context, our team was interested in the reactivity of iron (II) and cobalt (II) complexes of low valence stabilized by β-diketiminate ligands. These complexes have proved to be excellent catalysts for promoting the hydroamination reaction of unprotected primary amines bound to non-activated alkenes.In a first step, the syntheses of the iron (II) and cobalt (II) complexes stabilized by β-diketiminate ligands as well as their applications in cyclohydroamination reaction of the unprotected primary amines will be presented. In addition, advanced mechanistic studies will clarify the mechanism of the reaction, which is proposed to go through a key elementary 1..2 migratory insertion leading to the formation of a carbon-nitrogen bond.In a second step, the influence of the electron and steric properties of the ligands on the reactivity in the hydroamination reaction of the alkenes of the iron (II) alkyl complexes will be studied. We will focus particularly on complexes stabilized by asymmetric β-diketiminate ligands or iminoanilides. The crystallographic data of the solid state complexes will then make it possible to rationalize the variations of reactivities of these various complexes.Finally, the iron (II) and cobalt (II) complexes synthesized above will be exploited to develop new reactivities in oxidation reactions, oxidative amination or the creation of a nitrogen-silicon bond by a dehydrogenating coupling

Long relegated to the background by the pre-eminence of magnesium-based, stoichiometric Grignard reagents, a distinct chemistry of the heavier alkaline earth metals, calcium, strontium and barium, is only now starting to emerge. As similarities have been drawn between the large, electropositive, redox-inert and d0 alkaline earth Ae2+ dications and the Ln3+ cations of the lanthanide series, a growing group 2-mediated catalytic chemistry has developed over the last decade, including polymerisation reactions, heterofunctionalisation reactions of multiple bonds and some rare examples of dehydrocoupling reactions. Among these catalytic reactions the magnesium- and calcium-catalysed intramolecular hydroamination of aminoalkenes has attracted particular interest. Mechanistic studies have demonstrated many parallels with the lanthanide-mediated catalytic cycle based upon successive σ-bond metathesis and insertion steps. In the first part of this thesis, further investigations into the hydroamination/cyclisation reaction have demonstrated the prominent role of the charge density of the catalytic group 2 cation (M = Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba), the beneficial influence of stabilising spectator ligands, and the importance of the choice of the reactive co-ligand for efficient catalyst initiation. Kinetic analyses of reactions monitored by NMR spectroscopy have given new insight into activation energies, entropic effects, substrate and product inhibition, and kinetic isotope effects, leading to a review of the previously suggested lanthanide-mimetic mechanism. In a second part, this study seeks to address two of the main challenges posed by the intramolecular hydroamination reaction in particular, and heavier alkaline earth-catalysed reactions in general: (i) The need to design new monoanionic spectator ligands capable of stabilising heteroleptic heavier alkaline earth complexes and preventing deleterious Schlenk-type ligand redistribution processes in solution; (ii) The stabilisation of highly reactive heteroleptic group 2 alkyl functionalities for fast, irreversible catalyst initiation and novel reactivity.

Les hétérocycles azotés chiraux représentent une classe importante de composés biologiquement actifs. L’hydroamination asymétrique intramoléculaire correspond parfaitement au concept d’économie d’atomes et permet l’accès direct à la formation de nouvelles liaisons carbone-azote. Le développement de catalyseurs pour la formation de pyrrolidines et piperidines reste cependant une tâche importante. Le thème de cette thèse est l’étude de nouveaux complexes chiraux binaphthylamide d’yttrium facilement accessibles et leur application pour promouvoir la réaction d’hydroamination/cyclisation des amines primaires liées à des alcènes stériquement encombrés.Des complexes chiraux binaphthylamidure alkyl ate d’yttrium ont été développés. Ces systèmes catalytiques ont été préparés in situ par une réaction simple stœchiométrique en présence d’un précurseur d’yttrium [Li(THF)4][Y(CH2SiMe3)4] connu et d’une variété de ligands chiraux binaphthyldiamine substitués. Les complexes chiraux hétéroleptiques obtenus se sont révélés actifs et énantiosélectifs pour la réaction d’hydroamination asymétrique intramoléculaire des aminoalcènes 1,2-disubstitués conduisant à la formation d’hétérocycles azotés avec cinq et six châinons. Les catalyseurs d’yttrium préparés à partir du ligand (R)-N-anthrylmethyl-binaphthylamine H2L13 et des ligands (R)-benzyl N-para-substitués H2L4 or H2L6 se sont révélés les plus énantiosélectifs à 70-110°C pour la réaction d’hydroamination/cyclisation des aminoalcènes encombrés. Un excès énantiomérique de 77% a été obtenu comme valeur la plus élevée décrite jusqu’à présent pour l’hydroamination asymétrique intramoléculaire des amines comportant des alcènes 1,2-disubstitués. Les premiers exemples de la réaction d’hydroamination intramoléculaire asymétrique des aminoalcènes 1,1,2-trisubstitués ont été rapportés. Les complexes ate alkyl d’yttrium ont fourni les produits hétérocycliques avec des centres quaternaires énantiomériquement enrichis dans des conditions réactionelles plus sévères que la cyclisation des aminoalcènes 1,2-disubstitués et avec des énantiosélectivités prometteuses atteignant 55%. Les complexes alkyl d’yttrium contenant une molécule de chlorure de lithium [{(R)-C20H12(NSiMe3)2}Y{CH2SiMe3}{LiCl(THF)2}] and [{(R)-C20H12(NC5H9)2}Y{CH2SiMe3}{LiCl(THF)2}] ont été préparés et comparés aux mêmes complexes sans LiCl. Ils se sont révélés être des catalyseurs efficaces pour la réaction d’hydroamination intramoléculaire des aminoalcènes terminaux
Chiral nitrogen-containing heterocycles represent an important class of biologically active compounds. The asymmetric intramolecular hydroamination perfectly matches the concept of sustainable chemistry and allows the formation of new nitrogen-carbon bonds in an ideal atom efficiency and economy, starting from non activated substrates. The development of catalysts for formation of enantioenriched pyrrolidines and piperidines derivatives remains however a challenging task. The topic of this dissertation is the study of new easily accessible chiral yttrium binaphthylamide complexes and their application for promoting the hydroamination/cyclisation of primary amines tethered to sterically demanding alkenes. Chiral binaphthylamido alkyl ate yttrium complexes have been investigated. These catalytic systems have been prepared by a facile in situ stoichiometric reaction of a well-known yttrium precursor [Li(THF)4][Y(CH2SiMe3)4] with a variety of chiral substituted (R)-binaphthylamine ligands. These chiral heteroleptic complexes are shown to be efficient catalysts for the enantioselective intramolecular hydroamination of 1,2-disubstituted aminoalkenes leading to the formation of five and six-membered N-heterocycles. Yttrium catalysts prepared from (R)-N-anthrylmethyl-binaphthylamine ligand H2L13 and (R)-N-para-substituted benzyl ligands H2L4 or H2L6 proved to be the most enantioselective catalysts at 70-110°C for the hydroamination/cyclisation of challenging aminoalkenes. An enantiomeric excess value of 77 % was indeed disclosed as the highest value reported so far for the asymmetric intramolecular hydroamination of amines tethered to 1,2-disubstituted alkenes. The first examples of asymmetric intramolecular hydroamination of 1,1,2-tri-substituted aminoalkenes have been reported. The alkyl ate yttrium complexes produced the heterocyclic compounds with enantioenriched quaternary centres under harsher reaction conditions than the cyclisation of the corresponding 1,2-disubstituted alkenes, and with promising enantioselectivities of up to 55 %.The neutral alkyl yttrium complexes containing one molecule of lithium chloride [{(R)-C20H12(NSiMe3)2}Y{CH2SiMe3}{LiCl(THF)2}] and [{(R)-C20H12(NC5H9)2}Y{CH2SiMe3}{LiCl(THF)2}] have been prepared and compared with the same complexes lacking LiCl. They have been revealed as efficient catalysts for intramolecular hydroamination of terminal aminoalkenes

The last decade has been marked by a large increase of demand for green chemistry processes. Consequently, chemists have focused their efforts on the development of more direct routes toward different classes of targets. In that regard catalysis has played a crucial role at enabling key bond formations that were otherwise inaccessible or very energy and resources consuming. The central theme of this body of work concerns the formation of C–N bonds, either through transition metal catalysis or organocatalysis. These structural units being highly recurrent in biologically active molecules, the establishment of more efficient routes for their construction is indispensable. The first part of this thesis describes a new method for the synthesis of isoquinolines from the oxidative coupling/annulation of alkynes with N-tert-butyl benzaldimines via Rh(III) catalysis (Chapter 2). Preliminary mechanistic investigations of this system pointed to the involvement of Rh(III) in the C–H bond cleavage step as well as in the C–N bond reductive elimination that provides the desired heterocycle. Following this oxidative process, a Rh(III)-catalyzed redox-neutral approach to isoquinolones from the reaction of benzhydroxamic acids with alkynes is presented (Chapter 3). The discovery that an N–O bond contained in the substrate can act as an internal oxidant was found to be very enabling. Indeed, it allowed for milder reaction conditions, broader scope (terminal alkyne and alkene compatible) and low catalyst loadings (0.5 mol%). Mechanistic investigations on this system were also conducted to identify the nature of the C–N bond formation/N–O bond cleavage as well as the rate-determining step. The second part of this work presents mechanistic investigations performed on a recently developed intermolecular hydroamination reaction catalyzed through tethering organocatalysis (Chapter 4). This transformation operates via the reversible covalent attachment of two reactants, a hydroxylamine and an allylamine, to an aldehyde catalyst by the formation of a mixed aminal. This allows a difficult intermolecular Cope-type hydroamination to be performed intramolecularly. The main kinetic parameters associated with this reaction were determined and they allowed the generation of a more accurate catalytic cycle for this transformation. Attempts at developing new families of organocatalysts are also discussed.

This thesis describes the development of nitro-Mannich/hydroamination cascade reactions for the synthesis of N-heterocycles, which are important motifs found in a variety of biologically active natural products and pharmaceuticals, such as atorvastatin (Lipitor®). Chapter 2 outlines the development of an efficient synthesis of 2,5-disubstituted pyrroles using a nitro-Mannich/hydroamination cascade. Starting from easily prepared N-protected imines and nitroalkyne substrates, a compatible combination of KOtBu (10 mol%) and AuCl3 (5 mol%) was used to afford the desired pyrrole products, after an alkene isomerisation/HNO2 elimination reaction sequence. Chapter 3 describes the extension of this methodology to the diastereo- and enantioselective synthesis of 1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyridine derivatives using a nitroalkyne substrate with an extended carbon chain. The sequential addition of a bifunctional Brønsted base/H-bond donor organocatalyst and a gold complex was found to facilitate the desired cascade reaction affording substituted 1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyridine products. We then established that highly substituted pyrrolidine compounds could be prepared by replacing the nitroalkyne substrate with a nitroallene substrate (Chapter 4). The combination of KOtBu (5 mol%) and a gold catalyst derived from Au(PPh3)Cl (10 mol%) and AgSbF6 (20 mol%) was found to give an efficient diastereoselective synthesis of pyrrolidine derivatives after an additional nitro group epimerisation step. In addition, the nitro-Mannich/hydroamination cascade using nitroallene substrates was developed into an enantioselective variant using the previously employed bifunctional Brønsted base/H-bond donor organocatalyst. This afforded enantioenriched pyrrolidine derivatives.

The ability of gold(I) to activate many types of unsaturated bonds toward nucleophilic attack was not widely recognized until the early 2000s. One major challenge in gold catalysis is the control over regioselectivity when there are two or more possible products as a result of complicated mechanistic pathways. It is well know that the choice of ligand can have dramatic effects on which pathway is being followed but very rarely are the reasons for this selectivity understood. The synthesis of new acyclic diaminocarbenes was developed and a study of the ligand effects on the regioselectivity of a gold-catalyzed domino enyne cyclization hydroarylation reaction and a Nazarov cyclization was undertaken. New chiral acyclic diaminocarbenes were also developed and tested along side new C3-symmetric phosphite ligands in an asymmetric intramolecular hydroamination of allenes. Structure activity correlations were developed for the potential use in further rational ligand design. The synthesis of 6a,7-dihydro-5-amino-dibenzo[c,g]chromene derivatives via a gold-catalyzed domino reaction of alkynylbenzaldehydes in the presence of secondary amines was developed. These were sent to be screened for biological activity.

Au cours de cette thèse, nous avons développé la réaction d'hydroamination d'arylacétylènes en présence de quelques amines secondaires aliphatiques. Dans un premier temps, nous avons pu montrer que cette réaction peut être catalysée par différents sels de cuivres. L'utilisation catalytique de CuCN a permis la formation régio- et stéréosélective d'énamines issues d'addition d'orientation de type anti-Markovnikov d'isomèrie (E). Les conditions développées n'ont pas permis la purification des énamines observées. Pour cette raison une réduction en présence de l'agent réducteur NaBH3CN a été effectuée afin de pouvoir isoler les amines correspondantes. L'utilisation catalytique de CuCl a permis à son tour, dans certaines conditions, la synthèse régio-et stéréosélective de 1,3-diènes (1E,3E)-1,4-disubstitués. La nature des électroniques des substituants des noyaux aromatiques des alcynes employés a joué un rôle majeur en ce qui concerne la chimiosélectivité de la réaction. Dans un second temps, nous nous sommes concentrés sur l'amélioration des conditions développées et la recherche d'autres moyens plus efficaces, moins coûteux et plus verts, nous avons été en mesure de montrer que la réaction étudiée peut également s'effectuer uniquement en présence d'éthylène glycol employé en tant que solvant et promoteur de la réaction. Cette méthode permet l'accès direct aux énamines issues de l'addition d'orientation de type anti-Markovnikov d'isomérie (E) avec d'excellents rendements isolés sans qu'il soit nécessaire de purifier les énamines obtenues
In this thesis, we developed the hydroamiantion arylacétylènes reaction in the presence of some aliphatic secondary amines. At first, we could show that this reaction can be catalyzed by various copper salts. The catalytic use of CuCN allowed the regional training and sétéréosélective enamines derived from anti-Markovnikov addition type orientation isomerism (E). Developed conditions have not allowed the purification of the observed enamines. For this reason a reduction in the presence of the reducing agent NaBH3CN was performed in order to isolate the corresponding amines. The catalytic use of CuCl enabled in turn, under certain conditions, the regio-and stereoselective synthesis of 1,3-dienes (1E, 3E) -1,4-disubstituted oxanilides. The electronic nature of substituents of the aromatic rings alkynes employed played a major role as regards the chemoselectivity of the reaction.Secondly, we concentrate developed to improve conditions and find other more efficient ways, cheaper and greener, we were able to show that the test reaction can also be carried out only in the presence ethylene glycol used as solvent and the reaction promoter. This method allows direct access to enamines from the addition anti-Markovnikov orientation type of isomerism (E) with excellent isolated yields without the need to purify the resulting enamines

L’addition d’une liaison N-H sur une double liaison carbone-carbone, nommée réaction d’hydroamination (HA), constitue une voie efficace pour accéder à la formation de composés azotés à partir de précurseurs simples en une seule étape. Des progrès considérables ont été réalisés au cours de ces dernières années dans l’élaboration de systèmes catalytiques efficaces pour cette réaction d’intérêt sur des alcènes. Malgré tout de nombreux défis subsistent car peu de catalyseurs disposent d’un large champ d’application ou encore ils sont limités dans la catalyse de la version intermoléculaire de la réaction à la fois moins favorisée cinétiquement comme thermodynamiquement. Au cours de ces travaux le mécanisme réactionnel, d’activation de la réaction d’HA intramoléculaire, par un complexe d’yttrium a pu être déterminé suite à une étude cinétique. Cette dernière a permis de mesurer un ordre partiel en catalyseur de 1 et un ordre inverse en substrat. D’autre part, le potentiel dans la réaction d’HA de plusieurs systèmes catalytiques basés sur différents groupes de métaux a été évalué. Des complexes pinces tridentes de zirconium ou de hafnium sous forme neutre comme sous forme cationique ont montré de bonnes activités dans la réaction de cyclisation de plusieurs aminoalcènes comportant des amines primaires ou secondaires. L’utilisation d’un complexe d’yttrium a permis d’accéder à une large gamme d’arylethylamines de manière totalement régiospécifique par catalyse de la réaction intermoléculaire d’HA entre des amines secondaires faiblement encombrées et des dérivés du styrène. Ce faisant une étude structure-activité a été conduite mettant à jour une activité remarquable du complexe d’yttrium dans la réaction d’HA intermoléculaire sur la 2-vinylpyridine, ce qui a également permis de montrer une application en procédure tandem de double hydroamination. Enfin une procédure simple de catalyse de la réaction d’HA intermoléculaire sur des dérivés du styrène a pu être mise au point suite à l’utilisation d’un sel de lithium actif à température ambiante
The addition reaction of an amine across a carbon-carbon double bond, the so-called hydroamination reaction, is one of the most efficient method for the formation of value-added nitrogen-containing compounds. During the last decade, the interest of the scientific community has led to the development of a large number of efficient catalysts for this transformation. Nevertheless many challenges remain. Indeed only a few of the reported catalysts have a wide range of applications or possess good activities in the field of the intermolecular version of the reaction, less favored both kinetically and thermodynamically. In these work the mechanism of intramolecular HA reaction catalyzed by an yttrium complex has been determined by a kinetic study. During the latter a partial order of 1 for the catalyst and a reverse order in substrate were measured. The potential in the HA reaction of several catalytic systems based on different metals was evaluated. Tridentate complexes of zirconium or hafnium in their neutral or cationic form showed good activity in the cyclization reaction of several aminoalkenes bearing primary or secondary amines. The use of an yttrium complex allowed a regiospecific access to wide range of arylethylamines by catalysis of the intermolecular HA reaction between weakly hindered secondary amines and styrene derivatives. A structure-activity study was conducted pointing the noteworthy activity of the yttrium complex in the intermolecular HA reaction with 2-vinylpyridine, which also allowed an application in a tandem di-hydroamination reaction. Finally, a simple procedure for catalyzing the intermolecular HA reaction of styrene derivatives has been developed by using a lithium salt active at room temperature

L’un des axes de recherche du laboratoire Synthèse Métallo-Induites consiste en le développement de nouveaux complexes métallacycliques à chiralité planaire. Le défi majeur de cette thèse, a été l’élaboration de nouvelles approches sélectives de synthèse de complexes cationiques et neutres métallacyliques à chiralité planaire dont le métal chélaté est un centrestéréogène pseudo-tétraédrique.Le projet de thèse fut initié lors de l’étude d’une réaction inhabituelle de cycloruthénation d’un ligand dérivé de la 2-phénylpyridine qui était capable de produire un complexe ruthénacyclique OC-6 triscationique, homobinucléaire et à chiralité planaire comme produit secondaire en une seule étape à partir de substrats simples. Ce type de produit homobinucléaire ne peut se former uniquement que lorsqu’un groupement fortement donneur comme le N,N-diméthylamino (-NMe2) est présent sur le ligand départ. C’est donc à la lumière de ce résultat que nous avons engagé une étude systématique de la synthèse de nouveaux composés iridacycliques à chiralité planaire. Les fragments métalliques positivement chargés (Cp*Ir2+, Cp*Ru+) et neutre (Cr(CO)3) pourraient p-coordiner un fragment aryle riche en électrons d’un composé cyclométallé suivant un cours stéréochimiqueconditionné par la nature des entités ainsi introduites. Une des conséquences inattendues de ces recherches est l’émergence du concept de chiralité constitutionnelle déportée qui a surgi lors de l’étude du comportement conformationnel du complexe endo dicationique IrIr(NMe2) dont les groupes méthyles portés par le substituant N,N-diméthylamino dénotent une diastéréotopicité remarquable en spectroscopie de RMN 1H.A cette quête fondamentale de sélectivité s’est aussi greffée une exploration des propriétés catalytiques de nos complexes qui se sont révélés comme d’excellents précatalyseurs pour la promotion de réactions comme l’oxydation de l’eau et l’hydroamination/hydrosilylation d’alcynes vrais
One of the main research domain in the laboratory of «Synthèse Metallo-Induites» consists in the development of new planar chiral metallacycles complexes. The challenge of this thesis was the development of new selective approaches for the synthesis of new cationic and neutral planar chiral metallacycles complexes in which the chelated metal is a pseudotetrahedral stereogenic center.The thesis project was initiated by the study of the unusual cycloruthenation of a 2-phenylpyridine ligand which was able to produce a tris-cationic homobimetallic planar chiral ruthenacycle as secondary product in a one step reaction starting from simple substrates. This type of homobimetallic product is only formed when a strong electrodonationg group as NMe2 is present on the starting ligand. In view of this result, we engaged a systematic study by synthesizing new planar chiral iridacycles compounds. The positively charged metal fragments (Cp*Ir2+, Cp*Ru+) and neutral (Cr(CO)3) may p-coordinate the electronic rich aryl fragment of the iridacyclic compound by virtue of the coulombic imbalance in the coordination sphere of the chelated metal center. One of the unexpected consequence of this research is the emergence of the concept ″deported constitutional chirality″, which appeared during the study of the conformational behaviour of an endodicationiciridacyclic complex where the methyl groups carried by the N,N-dimethylamino substituent diastereotopicity.To this fundamental quest for selectivity an explanation of the catalytic proprieties of our complexes was added. They were found to be good precatalysts for the promotion of the water oxidation catalysis and to be promising catalysts for tandem hydroamination/hydrosilation of terminal alkynes

En esta tesis se han estudiado dos reacciones de formación enlaces C-N, la hidroaminación de olefinas y la aminación de Buchwald-Hartwig. La reacción de hidroaminación estudiada es la ciclohidroaminación alquenilaminas catalizados por un complejo de β-diketiminatocobalto (II). Esta reacción presenta las peculiaridades de ser la primera hidroaminación por un complejo de cobalto sin grupos protectores en la amina y sin necesitar reactivos adicionales. Se ha propuesto mecanismo para la reacción, se ha estudiado el efecto de los sustituyentes en el carbono cuaternario y el estado electrónico del metal en la reacción. La reacción de aminación estudiada es la aminación de Buchwald-Hartwig catalizado por un complejo de Pd(II) con la fosfina bidentada Josiphos para el caso particular en el que el N-nucleófilo es amoníaco. Esta reacción es uno de los escasos ejemplos en el que el amoníaco puede actuar como reactivo para la formación de un enlace C-N. Se ha propuesto un mecanismo de reacción cuando el ligando unido al centro metálico es bidentado, se ha estudiado el comportamiento del amoníaco en la reacción y el papel que juega una base fuerte en el mecanismo de la reacción.
In this thesis, two reactions have been studied: C-N bond formation, hydroamination of olefins and Buchwald-Hartwig amination. The hydroamination reaction studied is the cyclohydroamination alkenylamines catalyzed by a complex of β-diketiminatocobalt (II). This reaction presents the peculiarities of being the first hydroamination by a cobalt complex without protective groups in the amine and without needing additional reagents. It has been proposed a mechanism for this reaction. Furthermore has been analyzed the effect of the substituents on the quaternary carbon, and finally the electronic state of the metal in the reaction has been studied. The amination reaction studied is the Buchwald-Hartwig amination catalyzed by a Pd (II) complex with the Josiphos bidentate phosphine for the particular case in which the N-nucleophile is ammonia. This reaction is one of the few examples in which ammonia can act as a reagent for the formation of a C-N bond. A mechanism of reaction has been proposed when the ligand attached to the metal center is bidentate. The behavior of ammonia in the reaction has been analyzed and the role played by a strong base in the mechanism of the reaction has been studied.

L'addition catalysée des amines ou phosphines sur des substrats insaturés (alcènes, alcynes ou allènes) constitue une méthode efficace pour la production d’amines et phosphines à hautes valeurs ajoutées. Pour ces réactions, les complexes hétéroleptiques des métaux alcalino-terreux ont émergé comme des précatalyseurs effi caces. Cette thèse décrit la synthèse de complexes des alcalino-terreux supportés par des ligands aminoalcoolates fluorés de type [{RO}AeN(SiMe2H)2] ({RO} = aminoalcoolate fluoré; Ae = Ca, Sr). Des études par diffraction de rayons X montrent que ces complexes utilisent des interactions Ae···F–C and β-Si–H···Ae pour être cinétiquement inertes. Étonnamment, la somme de ces interactions non-covalentes dites secondaires est prédominante par rapport à la coordination d'éthers sur le centre métallique. En outre, les ligands aminoalcoolates fluorés ont été utilisés pour préparer de rares exemples de complexes Ae hétéroleptiques impliquant la coordination intramoléculaire de donneurs d'électrons π (i.e. alcènes et alcynes). Ainsi, pour la première fois, des complexes Ae stabilisés par des combinaisons d’interactions Ae···Cπ, Ae···F−C et β-Si−H···Ae ont été synthétisés. La nature de ces interactions a été sondée par des moyens spectroscopiques, cristallographiques et calculatoires (DFT). En revanche, nos efforts pour obtenir des complexes Ca–aryles ont conduit à la formation de complexes trinucléaires originaux présentant des interactions secondaires β-Si-H···Ca extrêmement fortes. Certains de ces complexes de calcium ont ensuite été testés en catalyse d’hydrophosphination du styrène avec la diphénylphosphine. Ils ont démontré des activités remarquables (TOF ≈ 50 h−1) en conditions douces, ainsi qu’une régiosélectivité de 100% vers la formation du produit d'addition anti-Markovnikov. En collaboration avec le Pr. M. Etienne et le Dr C. Dinoi du Laboratoire de Chimie de Coordination (Toulouse), un précatalyseur hétéroleptique de calcium supporté par un ligand tris(indazolyl)borate fluoré a été utilisé pour l’hydroamination intramoléculaire du 2,2-diméthylpent-4-en-1-amine, et a fait preuve d’une activité catalytique parmi les plus élevées à ce jour
The catalysed additions of amines or phosphines across unsaturated substrates (alkenes, alkynes or allenes) constitute atom-efficient routes for the production of valuable fine chemicals such as amines and phosphines. For these reactions, heteroleptic alkaline-earth complexes have emerged as promising precatalysts. This PhD thesis describes the synthesis and characterisation of a series of alkaline-earth complexes of type [{RO}AeN(SiMe2H)2] supported by fluorinated aminoalkoxides ({RO} = fluorinated aminoalkoxide; Ae = Ca, Sr ). X-ray diffraction studies show that these complexes heavily involve Ae···F–C and β-Si–H···Ae secondary interactions to achieve kinetic stabilisation. Remarkably, these so-called secondary, non-covalent interactions can be more beneficial towards the stabilisation of the metallic species than the coordination of ethers onto the metal centre. Furthermore, fluorinated aminoalkoxo ligands were used to prepare rare examples of Ae heteroleptic complexes featuring intramolecular coordination from π donors (i.e. alkenes and alkynes). For the first time, Ae complexes stabilised by a combination of Ae···Cπ, Ae···F–C and β-Si–H···Ae interactions were described. The structural and electronic features of these unique complexes were probed by crystallographic, spectroscopic and computational (DFT) methods. The utilisation of aryl-containing ligands resulted in the formation of trinuclear complexes featuring a unique pattern of strong β-Si–H···Ca agostic interactions. Some of these calcium heteroleptic complexes were tested in the hydrophosphination of styrene and HPPh2. They displayed high activities (TOF ≈ 50 h–1) under mild conditions with 100% regioselectivity towards the anti-Markovnikov addition product. In a collaboration with Prof. M. Etienne and Dr. C. Dinoi from the Laboratoire de Chimie de Coordination (Toulouse), a heteroleptic calcium complex supported by a fluorinated tris(indazolyl)borate was used in the intramolecular hydroamination of 2,2-dimethylpent-4-en-1-amine, and it displayed excellent performances

The aim of this D.Phil was to develop a range of cyclisation cascades, which initially form a reactive iminium intermediates that can then be attacked by a pendant nucleophile resulting in novel polycyclic structures. This concept has been applied to the development of three methodologies and has resulted in the discovery of new reactivity as well as the synthesis of a wide range of interesting novel structures Chapter 1: Enantioselective chiral-BINOL-phosphoric acid catalysed reaction cascade A highly enantioselective hydroamination / N-sulfonyliminium cyclisation cascade using a combination of Au(I) and chiral phosphoric acid catalysts has been developed. Proceeding by an initial 5-exo-dig hydroamination and a subsequent phosphoric acid catalysed Pictet- Spengler cyclisation, the reaction provides access to complex sulfonamide scaffolds in excellent yields and with high levels of enantiocontrol. The scope can be extended to lactam derivatives, with excellent yields and enantiomeric excesses of up to 93% ee. Chapter 2: Iridium catalysed nitro-Mannich cyclisation A new chemoselective reductive nitro-Mannich cyclisation reaction sequence of nitroalkyltethered lactams has been developed. An initial rapid and chemoselective iridium(I) catalysed reduction of lactams to the corresponding enamine is subsequently followed by intra molecular nitro-Mannich cyclisation. This methodology provides direct access to important alkaloid, natural product-like structures in yields up to 81% and in diastereoselectivities that are typically good to excellent. An in-depth understanding of the reaction mechanism has been gained through NMR studies and characterisation of reaction intermediates. The new methodology has been applied to the total synthesis of (±)-epi-epiquinamide in 4 steps. Chapter 3: Iridium catalysed reductive interrupted Pictet-Spengler cyclisation A novel reductive interrupted Pictet-Spengler cyclisation reaction cascade has been created. An iridium(I) catalyzed partial reduction of lactams/amides to the corresponding iminium is subsequently trapped by a pendant indole nucleophile. Interruption of the Pictet-Spengler reaction by indolium reduction provides a wide range of novel spirocyclic indoline moieties in excellent yield and diastereoselectivity.

This thesis describes the catalysed addition of X-H bonds (X = S, O and N) to alkynes using a range of novel rhodium(I) and iridium(I) complexes containing hybrid bidentate phosphine-pyrazolyl, phosphine-imidazolyl and phosphine-N heterocyclic carbene (NHC) donor ligands. The synthesis of novel bidentate phosphine-pyrazolyl, phosphine-imidazolyl (P-N) and phosphine-NHC (PC) donor ligands and their cationic and neutral rhodium(I) and iridium(I) complexes [M(P N)(COD)]BPh4, [M(PC)(COD)]BPh4, [Ir(P-N)(CO)2]BPh4 and [M(P-N)(CO)Cl] were successfully performed. An unusual five coordinate iridium complex with phosphine-NHC ligands [Ir(PC)(COD)(CO)]BPh4 was also obtained. Seventeen single crystal X-ray structures of these new complexes were determined. A range of these novel rhodium and iridium complexes were effective as catalysts for the addition of thiophenol to a variety of alkynes. Iridium complexes were more effective than rhodium analogues. Cationic complexes were more effective than neutral complexes. Complexes with hybrid phosphine-nitrogen donor were more effective than complexes containing bidentate nitrogen donor ligands. An atom-economical, efficient method for the synthesis of cyclic acetals and bicyclic O,O-acetals was successfully developed based on the catalysed hydroalkoxylation. Readily prepared terminal and non-terminal alkyne diols were cyclised into bicyclic O,O-acetals in quantitative conversions in most cases. The efficiency of a range of rhodium and iridium complexes containing bidentate P-N and PC donor ligands as catalysts for the cyclisation of 4-pentyn-1-amine to 2-methyl-1-pyrroline varied significantly. The cationic iridium complexes with the bidentate phosphine-pyrazolyl ligands, [Ir(R2PyP)(COD)]BPh4 (2.39-2.42) were extremely efficient as catalysts for this transformation. Increasing the size of the substituent on or adjacent to the donor led to improvement in catalytic activity of the corresponding metal complexes. The mechanism of the catalysed hydroalkoxylation was proposed to proceed by the initial activation of the alkyne via ?? coordination to the metal centre. The ?? binding of both aliphatic and aromatic alkynes to [Ir(PyP)(CO)2]BPh4 (2.44) was observed by low temperature NMR and no reaction between 2.44 and alcohols was observed. In contrast, the facility in which thiol and amine oxidatively added to 2.44 led the proposal that in the hydrothiolation and hydroamination reaction, the catalytic cycle commences with the activation of the X-H bond (X = S, N) by an oxidative addition process.

Kationische Zinkkomplexe werden als katalytisch aktive Spezies zahlreicher Lewis-Säure-katalysierter Reaktionen vermutet. Die diesen Katalysereaktionen zugrunde liegenden Mechanismen sind jedoch unzureichend verstanden. Das Ziel der vorliegenden Dissertation ist die Synthese strukturell definierter kationischer Zinkorganyle als Modellverbindungen für katalytisch aktive Spezies zinkkatalysierter Reaktionen. Der Fokus liegt auf Zinkverbindungen mit Cyclopentadienylliganden (Cp-Liganden), da Cp-Liganden ungewöhnliche Bindungssituationen stabilisieren können. In dieser Arbeit wird die erfolgreiche Synthese und Charakterisierung mehrerer kationischer Zinkkomplexe des Pentamethylcyclopentadienylliganden (Cp*-Liganden) beschrieben. Ein gemeinsames Strukturmerkmal dieser Komplexe besteht in der Koordination des Zinkatoms durch einen Cp*-Liganden sowie durch Neutralliganden. Die hohe Elektrophilie dieser Verbindungen ließ sich durch Reaktivitätsuntersuchungen belegen. Ein weiterer Ansatz zur Stabilisierung kationischer Zinkverbindungen besteht in der Verwendung funktionalisierter Cp-Liganden, die über eine neutrale Donorgruppe in einer Seitenkette verfügen. Es wurden neutrale und kationische Zinkkomplexe amino- sowie thiofunktionalisierter Cp-Liganden synthetisiert und charakterisiert. Für die kationischen Komplexe konnte eine intramolekulare Stabilisierung des Zinkatoms durch die Donorgruppe nachgewiesen werden. Einige der in dieser Arbeit beschriebenen Zinkkomplexe wurden als Präkatalysatoren intermolekularer Hydroaminierungsreaktionen eingesetzt, wobei teilweise hohe katalytische Aktivitäten erreicht wurden. Untersuchungen zum Mechanismus der Katalysereaktionen zeigten, dass eine hohe Elektrophilie des Zinkzentralatoms für eine effektive Katalyse entscheidend ist.
Cationic zinc complexes are assumed to act as catalytically active species in various Lewis acid catalyzed reactions. However, the mechanisms of these reactions are poorly understood. The aim of this dissertation is to synthesize structurally well-defined cationic zinc organyls as model compounds for catalytically active species in zinc catalyzed reactions. The thesis focuses on zinc complexes bearing cyclopentadienyl (Cp) ligands, as Cp ligands can stabilize unusual bonding situations. The successful synthesis and characterization of several cationic zinc complexes with pentamethylcyclopentadienyl (Cp*) ligands is described. As a common structural feature of these complexes, the zinc center is coordinated by a Cp* ligand and additional neutral ligands. The highly electrophilic character of these compounds was proven in reactivity studies. A further approach to stabilize cationic zinc compounds is to apply functionalized Cp ligands featuring a donor group in a side chain. Neutral and cationic zinc complexes bearing amino- and thio-functionalized Cp ligands were synthesized and characterized. The cationic donor-functionalized complexes were shown to exhibit an intramolecular stabilization of the zinc atoms by the donor groups. Several zinc complexes which are described in this thesis were examined as precatalysts in intermolecular hydroamination reactions. In some cases high catalytic activities were achieved. Studies on the mechanism of the catalysis reactions revealed that the presence of a highly electrophilic zinc center is crucial for good catalytic performance.

This thesis shed lights on metal-nitrogen organometallic fragments supported on silica surface for catalytic applications. It Focuses on group IV and V metal transition as a well-defined single-site catalysts, specifically titanium, hafnium, and tantalum to utilize them in the development of selective heterogeneous catalysis for imine metathesis, hydroamination and hydroaminoalkylation of olefins and alkynes. Developing new metal-nitrogen containing fragments by using easily available and abundant precursors which is silica SiO2 and metal amides complexes. Here, we describe metal fragments starting with hafnium-nitrogen fragment. All the catalysts were prepared by reacting homoleptic metal amido of group IV and V with partially dehydroxylated silica. In most cases the resulting surface amido is monopodal and leads to well defined single site catalysts precursors. In particular with Hf we have isolated hafniaaziridine 2.1 [(≡Si-O-)Hf(η2-MeNCH2)(η1-NMe2)(η1-HNMe2)], imido, and amido fragments 2.3 [(≡Si-O-)Hf(=NMe)(η1-NMe2)], and two intermediates the five-membered ring 2.2 [≡Si-O-Hf(HNMe2)(η2-NMeCH2CH(C6H13)CH2)(NMe2)] and 2.4 [(≡Si-O-)Hf(=NCH2Ar) (η1-NMe2)]. For tantalum 3.1 [(≡Si-O-)Ta=NtBu)(η1-NMeEt)2]; we have isolated two intermediates after treating 3.1 catalyst with aniline substrate lead to isolating 3.3 [(≡Si-O-)Ta(η1σ-NEtMe)2(η1σ-NHtBu)(NHC6H10)], and upon treating with 1-octyne lead to isolating 3.2 [(≡Si-O-)Ta(η1σ-NEtMe)2(η2-NtBuC=CC7H13)]. For titanium-nitrogen fragments, we isolated on silica SiO2-200 4.1 [(≡Si-O2-)Ti(NMe2)2 (η1-HNMe2)] and on SiO2-700 the titaniaaziridine 4.2a [≡Si-O-Ti(NMe2)3] 4.2b, [(≡Si-O-)Ti(η2-MeNCH2)(η1-NMe2)(η1-HNMe2)], the imido, and amido fragments 4.4 [(≡Si-O-)Ti(=NMe)(η1-NMe2)], and the five-membered ring intermediate 4.3 [≡Si-O-Ti(HNMe2)(η2-NMeCH2CH(C6H13)CH2)(NMe2)]. Research in this area has led to isolating several intermediates containing nitrogen fragments, this is the strength of surface organometallic chemistry which allows a deeper understanding of catalytic phenomena which could not be approached either in homogeneous catalysis or in classical heterogeneous catalysis. A molecular level characterization of the surface nitrogen containing fragments have been characterized by SOMC tools such as FTIR and EXAFS spectroscopy, elemental analysis, solid-state single and multiple quantum NMR, advanced DNP-SENS and DFT. A catalytic cycle was proposed based not only on the isolation of intermediates but also based on DFT calculations.

The study of organometallic chemistry in the context of catalysis can be approached from a stoichiometric perspective, in which PGM complexes are examined in the context of understanding fundamental reactions to provide insight into established catalytic transformations. Alternatively, a catalytic perspective can be adopted, in which an unknown or underdeveloped transformation is identified and PGM catalysis is employed to assist in the further development of this area. In this regard, two general goals of this thesis are: 1) to explore alternative ligation strategies based on P,S-functionalized indene ligands, with a particular focus of studying divergent stoichiometric reactivity between related cationic and zwitterionic PGM complexes; and 2) to identify general PGM catalysts for the cyclohydroamination of alkylaminoalkenes and the hydroamination of internal alkynes with secondary alkylamines. The preparation and divergent reactivity of a previously unreported class of coordinatively unsaturated cationic and zwitterionic Cp*Ir(P,S) complexes that feature structurally analogous P,S-indene and mono-deprotonated P,S-indenide ancillary ligands, respectively, are discussed. The cationic complex was observed to activate organosilanes via the first well-documented H-Si addition across an M-SR linkage. In contrast, the unusual stoichiometric reactivity of the putative zwitterion with CH3CN or Ph2SiH2 can be viewed as resulting from the dual action of the Lewis acidic Cp*Ir fragment and the Lewis basic 10?-electron indenide unit within this formally charge-separated zwitterion. Building on these initial studies, the synthesis of structurally related (benzyl)Pt(P,S) borato- and carbanion-based zwitterions and cationic complexes featuring the P,S-indene and indenide ligand framework are also presented. In the context of hydroamination studies, [Ir(COD)Cl]2 was identified as an effective pre-catalyst for the efficient synthesis of pyrrolidine and piperidine heterocycles via the cyclohydroamination of tethered aminoalkenes. Following optimization studies of this catalyst system, a broad substrate scope that included the cyclization of primary and secondary alkyl- or arylamines was established. A kinetic and mechanistic evaluation of this reaction suggested the operative pathway as involving olefin activation in a manner that had not previously been documented for Ir-catalyzed alkene hydroamination. In the pursuit of a general catalyst for the alkyne hydroamination reaction, an effective gold pre-catalyst featuring a P,N-ligand was identified and was used in the addition of a variety of functionalized dialkylamines to internal alkynes. In particular, the first examples of the regioselective addition of dialkylamines to unsymmetrically substituted alkynes are discussed. A preliminary mechanistic survey, consisting of kinetic and stoichiometric experiments, has provided empirical evidence to support a mechanism comprised of turnover-limiting alkyne insertion into a Au?N bond followed by proto-deauration.

Numerous methodologies for efficient formation of carbon-nitrogen bonds have been developed over the decades due to the widespread importance of nitrogen containing compounds in pharmaceuticals and bulk commercial chemicals. Among many methods, hydroamination, especially, has attracted enormous attention because of its atom-economical characteristic to synthesize amine moieties. As a result, numerous publications have been reported relating the hydroamination reaction using various metal catalysts. However, the hydroamination of unactivated alkenes still remains a challenge task because of the low reactivity of the CC double bond. Recent development of superior gold(I) catalysis in many organic transformations stimulated us to develop efficient gold(I)-catalyzed methods for enantioselective intra- and intermolecular hydroamination of unactivated alkenes.

A gold(I)-catalyzed system for enantioselective intramolecular hydroamination of unactivated alkenes has been developed. For the effective gold(I)-catalyzed method, various gold(I)-catalysts have been synthesized and tested. Among the catalysts, bis(gold) complexes containing an axially chiral bis(phosphine) ligand catalyze the enantioselective intramolecular hydroamination of unactivated alkenes with carboxamide derivatives, most effectively. The method was effective for both carbamates and ureas to form pyrrolidine derivatives with up to 85 % ee.

The first enantioselective intermolecular hydroamination of unactivated alkenes was realized by a gold(I)-catalyzed method. The gold(I) catalyst system adds cyclic ureas to unactivated 1-alkenes to produce corresponding enantiomerically enriched hydroamination product in good yield with enantioselectivity up to 78 % ee.

Polymer-embedded ligands have been synthesized to demonstrate proofs of concepts for fluxional mechanocatalysis. We applied a certain shear stress using a rheometer in the course of palladium-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation to examine catalytic reactivity change under the mechanical force.

Dissertation

Plusieurs nouveaux complexes pinceurs de cobalt et de nickel ont été préparés avec le ligand pinceur de type POCOP : 2,6-(i-Pr2PO)2C6H4. Dans le cas du cobalt, une nouvelle voie de synthèse a été développée. Contrairement au cas du nickel, il s’agit ici de cobalt au degré d’oxydation +III. Les composés obtenus sont paramagnétiques. En outre, le dérivé bromé est instable à la lumière et se décompose en perdant un brome pour former le complexe pinceur de Co(II). La réactivité de ces complexes a été étudiée. Pour ce qui est du nickel, la catalyse de l’hydroamination a été élargie aux dérivés de l’acrylonitrile et aux amines aromatiques. En outre, la réaction d’hydroaryloxylation a été étudiée dans les mêmes conditions. Enfin, avec le 4-cyanostyrène et le cinnamonitrile, la formation d’amidines a été observée. Un complexe pinceur portant cette amidine a été isolé. Enfin, le cation réagit avec des anions fortement coordonnants tels le cyanure ou l’isocyanate. En outre, l’anion triflate peut être déplacé par l’eau, l’acrylonitrile et ses dérivés. Enfin, une réactivité particulière a été observée avec la morpholine, l’acétone et un mélange 1:1 aniline/triéthylamine.
A large variety of new POCOP pincer type complexes of cobalt and nickel have been prepared. All those complexes are based on the following POCOP pincer type ligand: 2,6-(i-Pr2PO)2C6H4 In the case of cobalt, a new synthetic pathway has been developped. Unlike nickel, complexes containing cobalt in the +III oxidation state are obtained, the mechanism of their formation remains unknown. These complexes are paramagnetic. The dibromo derivative is light-sensitive, decomposing by losing a bromine to form the Co(II) pincer complex. The reactivity of those complexes has been studied. Concerning nickel, the catalyzed hydroamination has been extended to the derivates of acrylonitrile, crotonitrile and methacrylonitrile and to aromatic amines. Moreover, hydroaryloxylation reaction has been studied under the same conditions. Finally, amidines formation was obtained with 4-cyanostyrene and with cinnamonitrile. A pincer complex bearing this amidine moiety has been isolated. The cationic complex reacts with strong coordinating anions like cyanide and isocyanate. Moreover, the triflate anion is displaced by water, acrylonitrile and acrylonitrile derivates. Finally, a particular reactivity has been observed with morpholine, acetone and a 1:1 mixture of aniline and triethylamine.

Ce mémoire décrit la synthèse, la caractérisation spectroscopique et l’étude de la réactivité catalytique d’une nouvelle série de complexes pinceurs de Ni(II) formés à partir du ligand POCOPPh (P,C,P-2,6-{Ph2PO}2C6H4), très peu étudié dans le cas du nickel. Les études décrites dans ce mémoire examinent l’effet des substituants des phosphines sur les propriétés spectroscopiques et électrochimiques ainsi que les activités catalytiques. La synthèse du ligand a été améliorée par rapport à la procédure connue dans la littérature en diminuant le temps de réaction à 30 min et la température jusqu'à température ambiante. Les composés pinceur (P,C,P-2,6-{Ph2PO}2C6H3)NiX ont été obtenus avec des rendements variant entre 60% et 88%. Le premier complexe a été synthétisé en faisant réagir le précurseur NiBr2(NCCH3)x avec le ligand POCOPPh pour donner (POCOPPh)NiBr. Ce dernier réagit par la suite avec les sels d’argent et de potassium pour donner 4 nouveaux complexes soient : (POCOPPh)NiCN, (POCOPPh)NiOTf, (POCOPPh)NiOAc et (POCOPPh)NiONO2 (OTf = triflate et OAc = acetate). Vu la réactivité limitée du dérivé bromure, le dérivé (POCOPPh)NiOTf a été utilisé pour la préparation du composé (POCOPPh)NiCCPh. Le dérivé Ni-OTf a été utilisé également pour la synthèse des complexes (POCOPPh)NiR qui ont été détectés par RMN. Ces complexes (POCOPPh)NiR ont montré une stabilité trop faible et donnent des nouveaux complexes de type (POCOPPh)NiX en échangeant l’halogène avec le Mg ou de type (POCOPPh)NiOH en s’hydrolysant. Les espèces cationiques [(POCOPPh)NiNCR][OTf] (R= Me, CHCH2, CHCHMe, C(Me)CH2, NCCH2CH2N(Ph)H) ont été obtenues facilement et avec des bon rendements à partir du (POCOPPh)NiOTf. Tous les composés obtenus ont été caractérisés par la spectroscopie RMN (1H, 13C{1H}, 31P{1H}, 19F{1H}), la spectroscopie IR et la spectroscopie UV-vis. L’analyse élémentaire et l’analyse par la diffraction des rayons X, dont le but est de résoudre la structure à l’état solide, ont été utilisées pour la plupart des complexes. Des études de voltampérométrie cyclique ont été menées pour déterminer la densité électronique des centres métalliques et l’effet des phosphines sur cette propriété électrochimique. Dans le but de déterminer l’effet des substituants des phosphines sur l’activité catalytique des complexes, nous avons évalué les réactivités catalytiques des deux complexes (POCOPPh)NiOTf et (POCOPi-Pr)NiOTf dans la réaction d’hydroamination des oléfines activés et plus spécifiquement l’acrylonitrile. Après optimisation des conditions expérimentales, on a constaté que la réactivité des deux composés sont similaires mais une grande différence apparaît après l’ajout des additifs. En effet, le complexe (POCOPi-Pr)NiOTf donne une bonne activité catalytique en présence de la triéthylamine, tandis que cette activité diminue considérablement en présence d’eau, contrairement au complexe (POCOPPh)NiOTf qui est plus actif en présence d’eau. Dans le cas du complexe (POCOPPh)NiOTf, on a pu montrer que la base se coordonne au nickel dans le produit formé après la réaction d’hydroamination, ce qui diminue l’activité de ce complexe dans certains cas. Également on a exploré la réaction de l’addition du lien O-H sur l’acrylonitrile, et étonnamment le complexe (POCOPPh)NiOTf est beaucoup plus actif que son homologue (POCOPi-Pr)NiOTf dans le cas des alcools aromatiques. Par contre, les alcools aliphatiques restent un défi majeur pour ce genre de complexe. Le mécanisme de cette réaction qui a été proposé montre que l’alcoolyse passe par les deux intermédiaires (POCOPPh)NiOAr et [(POCOPPh)NiOAr][HOAr] mais l’isolation de ces intermédiaires observés par RMN semble être difficile.
This thesis describes the synthesis, spectroscopic characterization and the catalytic activities of a new family of pincer complexes of Ni (II) starting from the ligand POCOPPh (P,C,P-2,6-{Ph2PO}2C6H4) for which very few nickel complexes have been reported previsouly. We discuss the influence of P-substituents on the spectroscopic, electrochemical and catalytic activities of these complexes. The synthesis of POCOPPh has been improved comparatively to the procedure reported in the literature by reducing the reaction time to 30 minutes and the temperature to room temperature. The complex (P,C,P-2,6-{Ph2PO}2C6H3)NiBr was obtained with 88% yield by reacting the precursor NiBr2(NCCH3)x with POCOPPh . This complex was then reacted with various silver and potassium salts to give the following complexes (POCOPPh)NiCN, (POCOPPh)NiOTf, (POCOPPh)NiOAc and (POCOPPh)NiONO2 (OTf = triflate et OAc = acetate). The limited reactivity of the bromo derivative led us to use (POCOPPh)NiOTf for the preparation of some of the desired derivatives, such as (POCOPPh)NiCCPh. Attempts to prepare the desired alkyl derivatives (POCOPPh)NiR were not successful, but we were able to detect these derivatives using NMR. The thermal instability of (POCOPPh)NiR led to formation of new (POCOPPh)NiX complexes by halogen exchange with MgX2 or (POCOPPh)NiOH by hydrolysis. The cationic species [(POCOPPh)NiNCR][OTf] (R = Me, CHCH2, CHCHMe, C(Me)CH2, NCCH2CH2N(Ph)H) also were obtained easily from the (POCOPPh)NiOTf with good yields. All these complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, NMR spectroscopy (1H, 13C{1H} 31P{1H}, 19F{1H}), IR spectroscopy and UV-vis spectroscopy. For most complexes analysis by X-ray diffraction allowed us to establish their solid state structures. A few studies by cyclic voltammetry have been done to determine the electronic density of the metal center and the P-substituent influence on this characteristic. In order to investigate the effect of phosphine substituents on the catalytic activities of this type of complexes, catalytic studies were undertaken with the following two complexes (POCOPPh)NiOTf and (POCOPi-Pr)NiOTf in hydroamination of activated olefins specifically acrylonitrile. After optimization of experimental conditions, it was found that both complexes have similar activities but what makes a huge difference is the use of additives. Indeed, (POCOPi-Pr)NiOTf showed good catalytic activity in the presence of triethylamine as base but this activity decreased significantly in the presence of water. The opposite was observed with (POCOPPh)NiOTf complex: it was shown that triethylamine coordinates to the nickel center in this complex and hence reduces its activity in some cases. We Also explored other reactions such as the addition of the O-H bond in aromatic alcohols to acrylonitrile, and it was surprising that (POCOPPh)NiOTf is much more active than its homologous (POCOPi-Pr)-NiOTf. However aliphatic alcohols remain a major challenge for this kind of complex. Mechanistic studies suggest that this reaction passes through the following intermediates (POCOPPh)NiOAr and [(POCOPPh)NiOAr][HOAr]. These species were observed by NMR but not isolated.