Virtual Lecture: New Strategies for the Synthesis and Functionalization of Small Rings and Nitriles

Lecture held on: October 31

Presenter

Prof. Sophie Rousseaux – Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto

In this lecture, Prof. Sophie Rousseaux will discuss the development of new Ni-catalyzed processes and/or the use of readily available building blocks to access complex small molecules. Two areas of research that are of particular interest in her study will be highlighted in this presentation. In the first part of this talk, Prof. Sophie Rousseaux will discuss her recent work on the synthesis and functionalization of small rings, including cyclopropanols, cyclopropylamines, and cyclobutanols. Reactions involving electrophilic metal homoenolates will be presented as well as Ni-catalyzed cross-couplings to functionalize cyclopropanols and cyclopropylamines. In part two, Prof. Rousseaux will describe her efforts to develop new synthetic methods for the preparation of nitrile-containing building blocks that use inexpensive and less toxic nitrile-transfer reagents. Recent work on the development of Ni-catalyzed reductive transnitrilation reactions will be presented.