UCLA

This thesis contains results from three different projects. The first project focused on the synthesis of monoanionic ferrocene-based N,P ligands. 1-(tert-butyldimethylsilyl)amino-1'-diphenylphosphinoferrocene (fc(TBSNH)(PPh₂)) was successfully synthesized and characterized by ¹H, ³¹P, ¹³C NMR spectroscopy, and elemental analysis. Unfortunately, coordination to group 3 metal complexes was unsuccessful.

The second project focused on the synthesis of redox-active ferrocene-based ligands and their applications in selective intramolecular hydroamination. Redox-active ligands can be used as a reversible trigger to control catalytic reactivity. Preliminary results observed by ¹H NMR spectroscopy suggest that [1,1'-ferrocenedi(thio(3,5-di-tert-butyl-2-phenoxide)]Zr dibenzyl ((thiolfan²)ZrBn₂) shows selectivity between primary and secondary alkeneamines depending on the oxidation state of the iron center.

The final project was a computational study using density functional theory (DFT) to understand recent experimental findings involving ferrocene-functionalized biodegradable polymers. Gibbs free energy for six cyclic carbonate monomers and three δ-valerolactone monomers was calculated. Computational results correlated strongly with experimental data in that δ-valerolactones, which could not be polymerized, had a higher Gibbs free energy than cyclic carbonates, which could be polymerized.