Self-adaptable catalysts Importance of flexibility and applications in asymmetric catalysis

Sammanfattning: The topic of this thesis is the design and synthesis of biaryl-based self adaptableligands for asymmetric metal catalysis. The results discussed in papers I-III are covered, together with some unpublished results concerning substrate-adaptable catalysts. A general survey of self-adaptable catalysts is presented first.The second chapter of this thesis starts with a survey of inversion barriers in biphenyl-based ligands and catalysts. Thereafter, the determination of barriers to conformational adaptation in dibenzoazepines and dibenzophosphepines is described. Palladium complexes with a diphosphine ligand or a diamine ligand, as well as the free diamine ligand, were studied. Entropies and enthalpies of activation were determined with variable temperature NMR spectroscopy. The mechanism of conformational change in the metal complexes was elucidated.The third chapter describes the synthesis of semiflexible and rigid phosphinite ligands, as well as their application in rhodium-catalysed asymmetric hydrogenation. Modest enantioselectivities (up to 63% ee) were obtained. The semiflexible ligand was found to behave like the most active rigid diastereomer. The fourth chapter describes the behaviour of amine and phosphoramidite ligands in model complexes relevant to the palladium-catalysed asymmetricallylic alkylation of benchmark substrates. Diphosphoramidite and aminephosphoramiditeligands were designed and synthesised. Pd(olefin) complexesof diamine and diphosphoramidite ligands were studied, and their symmetry determined. It was found that both types of ligands are able to adapt their conformation to the substrate.