| Aerobic oxidative reactions are an atom economical way in install functional groups in a molecule. This work has specifically focused on the synthesis of C-N and C-O bonds by the addition of oxygen and nitrogen nucleophiles to alkenes. Pd catalysts, both homogeneous and heterogeneous, have proven to show good reactivities and allowed us to use O2 as the sole oxidant in these processes. Using O2 as the sole oxidant provides a cleaner reaction than using other common oxidants (e.g. benzoquinone, Cu salts, hypervalent iodine), as the only byproduct is water. The work presented here has focused on: 1) the cyclization of aminoalkene substrates with a chiral sulfinamide auxiliary to afford enantiopure 2,5-disubstituted pyrrolidines, 2) the synthesis of novel palladium complexes to understand a mechanism of ligand promoted N-H activation, and 3) the acetoxylation of alkenes, both terminal and internal, with a Bi and Te promoted heterogeneous Pd catalyst. |
