The gold-catalyzed enantioselective hydroazidation and hydroamination reactions of allenes are presented herein. ADC gold(I) catalysts derived from BINAM were critical for achieving high levels of enantioselectivity in both transformations. The sense of enantioinduction is reversed for the two different nucleophiles, allowing access to both enantiomers of the corresponding allylic amines using the same catalyst enantiomer.

The gold-catalyzed enantioselective hydroazidation and hydroamination reactions of allenes are presented herein. ADC gold(I) catalysts derived from BINAM were critical for achieving high levels of enantioselectivity in both transformations. The sense of enantioinduction is reversed for the two different nucleophiles, allowing access to both enantiomers of the corresponding allylic amines using the same catalyst enantiomer.

A gold(I)-catalyzed enantioselective desymmetrization of 1,3-diols was achieved by intramolecular hydroalkoxylation of allenes. The catalyst system 3-F-dppe(AuCl)₂ /(R)-C₈-TRIPAg proved to be specifically efficient to promote the desymmetrizing cyclization of 2-aryl-1,3-diols, which have proven challenging substrates in previous reports. Multisubstituted tetrahydrofurans were prepared in good yield with good enantioselectivity and diastereoselectivity by this method.

A gold(I)-catalyzed enantioselective desymmetrization of 1,3-diols was achieved by intramolecular hydroalkoxylation of allenes. The catalyst system 3-F-dppe(AuCl)₂ /(R)-C₈-TRIPAg proved to be specifically efficient to promote the desymmetrizing cyclization of 2-aryl-1,3-diols, which have proven challenging substrates in previous reports. Multisubstituted tetrahydrofurans were prepared in good yield with good enantioselectivity and diastereoselectivity by this method.

A sp³–sp² CC cross-coupling reaction catalyzed by gold in the absence of a sacrificial oxidant is described. Vital to the success of this method is the implementation of a bimetallic catalyst bearing a bis(phosphino)amine ligand. A mechanistic hypothesis is presented, and observable transmetalation, CBr oxidative addition, and CC reductive elimination in a model gold complex are shown. We expect that this method will serve as a platform for the development of novel transformations involving redox-active gold catalysts.

Herein is reported the first asymmetric utilization of aryldiazonium cations as a source of electrophilic nitrogen. This is achieved through a chiral anion phase-transfer pyrroloindolinization reaction that forms C3-diazenated pyrroloindolines from simple tryptamines and aryldiazonium tetrafluoroborates. The title compounds are obtained in up to 99 % yield and 96 % ee. The air- and water-tolerant reaction allows electronic and steric diversity of the aryldiazonium electrophile and the tryptamine core.

Biological and chemocatalytic processes are tailored in order to maximize the production of sustainable biodiesel from lignocellulosic sugar. Thus, the combination of hydrotalcite-supported copper(II) and palladium(0) catalysts with a modification of the fermentation from acetone–butanol–ethanol to isopropanol–butanol–ethanol predictably produces higher concentrations of diesel-range components in the alkylation reaction.

A sp³–sp² CC cross-coupling reaction catalyzed by gold in the absence of a sacrificial oxidant is described. Vital to the success of this method is the implementation of a bimetallic catalyst bearing a bis(phosphino)amine ligand. A mechanistic hypothesis is presented, and observable transmetalation, CBr oxidative addition, and CC reductive elimination in a model gold complex are shown. We expect that this method will serve as a platform for the development of novel transformations involving redox-active gold catalysts.

The development of a gold(I)-catalyzed sulfination of aryl boronic acids is described. This transformation proceeds through an unprecedented mechanism which exploits the reactivity of gold(I)–heteroatom bonds to form sulfinate anions. Further in situ elaboration of the sulfinate intermediates leads to the corresponding sulfones and sulfonamides, two pharmacophores routinely encountered in drug discovery.

Herein is reported the first asymmetric utilization of aryldiazonium cations as a source of electrophilic nitrogen. This is achieved through a chiral anion phase-transfer pyrroloindolinization reaction that forms C3-diazenated pyrroloindolines from simple tryptamines and aryldiazonium tetrafluoroborates. The title compounds are obtained in up to 99 % yield and 96 % ee. The air- and water-tolerant reaction allows electronic and steric diversity of the aryldiazonium electrophile and the tryptamine core.

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is a polymeric material with high global demand. Conventionally, PET is produced from fossil-fuel-based materials. Herein, we explored the feasibility of a sustainable method for PET production by using solely bio-renewable resources. Specifically, 2,5-dimethylfuran (derived from lignocellulosic biomass through 5-(hydroxymethyl)furfural) and acrolein (produced from glycerol, a side product of biodiesel production) were converted into the key intermediate p-xylene (a precursor of terephthalic acid). This synthesis consists of a sequential Diels–Alder reaction, oxidation, dehydration, and decarboxylation. In particular, the pivotal first step, the Diels–Alder reaction, was studied in detail to provide useful kinetic and thermodynamic data. Although it was found that this reaction requires low temperature to proceed efficiently, which presents a limitation on economic feasibility on an industrial scale, the concept was realized and bio-derived p-xylene was obtained in 34 % overall yield over four steps.

The development and application of chiral, non-racemic Re^V–oxo complexes to the enantioselective reduction of prochiral ketones is described. In addition to the enantioselective reduction of prochiral ketones, we report the application of these complexes to 1) a tandem Meyer–Schuster rearrangement/reduction to access enantioenriched allylic alcohols and 2) the enantioselective reduction of imines.