Theses and Dissertations

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Mead, Keith T.

Committee Member

Foster, Stephen C.

Committee Member

Emerson, Joseph

Committee Member

Lewis, Edwin

Committee Member

Sygula, Andrzej

Date of Degree

12-11-2015

Document Type

Dissertation - Open Access

Major

Chemistry

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Department of Chemistry

Abstract

N-Heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) are one of the few ligand systems that can finely tune transition metal catalysts via sterics and electronics. The strong sigma-donating properties of these ancillary ligands allow the development of robust tridentate NHC pincer framework, which has emerged as an alternative to the phosphine pincer ligands. The combination of NHC and pincer systems has resulted in a new generation of catalytically active organometallic complexes reported throughout the literature. -NHC Rh pincer complexes were found to be catalytically active in C-C and C-B bond formation via 1,4dition reactions. In addition, the in-situ generated -NHC Ir(H) pincer complex demonstrated catalytic activity in borylation of arene C-H bonds. Preliminary results are comparable to the C-H borylation results published by Hartwig and co-workers. The -NHC Ir(H) pincer complex may also prove to be a suitable catalyst for alkane dehydrogenation, due to framework similarities of the highly active and durable PCP and POCOP pincer hydride systems. Expansion of group 9 metal sources for transmetalation of the -NHC Zr pincer complex afforded the development of -NHC Rh(CO) and -NHC Co complexes. Group 9 metal carbonyl complexes have been reported as active catalysts in photocatalytic C-H activation of small molecules. Testing of Co sources for transmetalation afforded three rare Co pincer complexes, and the first examples of -NHC Co pincer complexes to date. Development of -NHC pincer complexes with base metals provide cost-effect alternatives to pincer systems with precious metal centers, and is reported herein.

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11668/19612

Comments

C-H activation||pincer||NHC||carbene

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