Insights into transition metal catalysed asymmetric transformations

Thesis

A crucial element in successfully developing efficient asymmetric catalytic reactions is finding a suitable chiral catalyst. Ligand discovery/development is not always easy to achieve. The most common practice often relies on trial and error. To move away from this, we have adopted a systematic approach that integrates traditional experimental screening approaches with statistical models (QSSR) and DFT calculations. Our aim is to increase useful information drawn from the experimental results, rather than just relying on chemical intuition alone.

We have applied this approach to two copper catalysed conjugate addition reactions and an iridium catalysed hydrogenation, all of which involved chiral phosphoramidite ligands. The QSSR models are shown to be both predictive and informative. This approach is not limited to only transition metal catalysed reaction or only with phosphoramidite-type ligands. In theory, it is applicable to any asymmetric transformation of interest involving any type of ligand.

Authors: Ardkhean, R

• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford