Towards Improved Practicality in Iron-Catalyzed Suzuki-Miyaura Cross-Coupling Reactions

Abstract

This dissertation will discuss the development of Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reactions catalyzed by iron-based complexes with an emphasis on addressing limitations to their practical application in industrial contexts. Chapter 1 will provide an overview of the development of the palladium-catalyzed Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reaction and key factors which have enabled its prevalent use in various industries, with a comparison to how those factors have limited similar development of iron-catalyzed analogues. Chapter 2 will discuss the initial discovery and subsequent development of a series of iron-based precatalysts for the cross-coupling reaction of unactivated aryl boronic esters and alkyl halides. Chapter 3 will discuss the development and validation of a bench-stable iron(III)-based complex capable of catalyzing the Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reaction between unactivated aryl boronic esters and alkyl halides. To conclude, Chapter 4 will discuss the ability of iron-based complexes to participate in the Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reaction with alkyl tosylate electrophiles and its implications for harnessing the ability of iron catalysis to operate under different mechanistic manifolds.