Elliptical orbital studies of H21 and H2 molecules /|nS. K. Gupta. -- 260 St. Catharines, Ont. : [s. n.],

Calculations are performed on the \S <:Jd ground states of d ' + the H and HC) molecules using a basis set of non-integral ~ ~ I elliptical orbitals. Different variational wavefunctions constructed i- for H~ involved one parameter to three par~~eter variation. In order to l"'educe the ntunber of parameters in most commonly 0- used basis orbitals set, the importance of the term (,+~) Y\ over the term ;u 'Where n is a variational pararneter and the value of cr may be given by boundary condition or cusp condition is outlined in Chapters II and III. It is found that the two parameter -+

The kinetics and mechanism of the thermal decomposition of sec-Butyl peroxide in liquid phase /|nby Sandor Szilagyi. -- 260 St. Catharines, Ont. : [s. n.],

Re~tes artd pJ~oducts of tllerma]. d,ecom.position of sec-butyl peroxide at 110 - 150°C i.n four solvents h,ave been determined. The d,ecompos i tion vJas sb.o\'\Tn to be tlnlmolecl.llar wi tho energies of activation in toluene, benzene, and cyclohexane of 36 .7-+ 1.0, 33.2 +- 1..0, 33.t~) +.. 1.0 I'(:cal/mol respectively. The activation energy of thermal decomposition for the d,et.1terated peroxide was found to be 37.2 4:- 1.0 KC8:1/1TIol in toluene. A.bo1J.t 70 - 80/~ ol~ tJJ.e' pl~od.1..1CtS could, be explained by kn01rJ11 reactions of free allcoxy raclicals J and very littJ...e, i.f allY, disPl"Opox~tiol'lation of tll10 sec-butoxy radica.ls in t116 solvent cage could be detected. The oth,er 20 - 30% of the peroxide yielded H2 and metb.:'ll etb..yl 1{etol1e. Tl1.e yield. o:f H2 "'lIas unafJ:'ected by the nature or the viscosity of the solvent, but H2 was not formed when s-t1U202 lrJaS phctolyzed. in tolttene at 35°C nor 'tl!Jrl.en the peroxide 1;'JaS tl1.ermally o..ecoJnposed. in the gas p11ase. ~pC-Dideutero-~-butYlperoxide was prepared and decomposed in toluene at 110 - 150°C. The yield of D2 was about ·•e1ne same 248 the yield. of I{2 from s-Bu202, bU.t th.e rate of decomposition (at 135°C) 1iJas only 1/1.55 as fast. Ivlecl1.anisms fOl') J:1ydrogen produ.ction are discussed, but none satisfactorily explains all the evidence.

The kinetics and solvent effects on the thermal decomposition of isopropyl peroxide and 1, 2-dioxane

Rates of H2 formation have been determined for the thermal decomposition of isopropyl peroxide at l30o-l50oC in toluene and methanol and at l400C in isopropyl alcohol and water. Product studies have been carried out at l400C in these solvents. The decomposition of isopropyl peroxide was shown to be unimolecular with energies of activation in toluene, and methanol of 39.1, 23.08 Kcal/mole respectively. It has been shown that the rates of H2 formation in decomposition of isopropyl peroxide are solvent dependent and that the ~ vs "'2';' values (parameters for solvent polarity) givesastraight line. Mechanisms for hydrogen production are discussed which satisfactorily explain the stabilization of the six-centered transition state by the solvent. One possibility is that of conformation stabilization by solvent and the other, a transition state with sufficient ionic character to be stabilized by a polar solvent. Rates of thermal decomposition of 1,2-dioxane in tert-butylbenzene at l40o-l70oC have been determined. The activation energy was found to be 33.4 Kcal/mole. This lower activation energy, compared to that for the decomposition of isopropyl peroxide in toluene (39.1 Kcal/mole) has been explained in terms of ring strain. Decomposition of 1,2 dioxane in MeOH does not follow a first order reaction. Several mechanisms have been suggested for the products observed for decomposition of 1;2-dioxane in toluene and methanol.

Elucidation of odour-potent compounds and sensory profiles of Vidal blanc and Riesling icewines from the Niagara Peninsula : effect of harvest date and crop level

I t was hypothesized that the freeze/thaw cycles endured by icewine grapes would change their chemical composition, resulting in unique chemical fingerprint and sensory properties, and would be affected by harvest date (HD) and crop level (CL). The objectives were: 1) to identify odour-active compounds using gas chromatographic and sensory analysis; 2) to determine the effect of CL and HD on these compounds; 3) to determine the icewine sensory profiles; 4) to correlate analytical and sensory results for an overall icewine profile. CharmAnalysis™ determined the Top 15 odour-potent compounds in Vidal and Riesling icewine and table wines; 24 and 23 compounds, respectively. The majority of the compounds had the highest concentrations in the icewines compared to table wines. These compounds were used as the foundation for assessing differences in icewine chemical profiles from different HD and CL. Vidal and Riesling icewine were made from grapes picked at different HD; HI : 19 December; H2: 29 December; H3: 18 January; H4: 11 February (Vidal only). HI wines differed from H3 and H4 wines in both Vidal and Riesling for aroma compounds and sensory profiles. - Three·CL [control (fully cropped), cluster thin at fruit set to one basal cluster/shoot (TFS), and cluster thin at veraison to one basal cluster/shoot (TV)] were evaluated for Riesling and Vidal cultivars over two seasons. Vidal icewines had the highest concentration of aroma compounds in the control and TV icewines in 2003 and in TFS icewines in 2004. In Riesling, most aroma compounds had the highest concentration in the TV icewines and the lowest concentration in the TFS wine for both years. The thinned treatments were associated with almost all of the sensory attributes in both cultivars, both years. HD and CL affected the chemical variables, aroma compounds and sensory properties of Vidal and Riesling icewines and freeze/thaw events changed their sensory profile. The most odour-potent compounds were p-damascenone, cis-rose oxide, 1- octen-3-ol, 4-vinylguaiacol, ethyl octanoate, and ethyl hexanoate. The role of Pdamascenone as a marker compound for icewine requires further investigation. This research provides a strong foundation for the understanding the odour-active volatiles and sensory profiles important to icewine.

Hydrosilylation and hydroboration catalyzed by imido-hydride complexes of molybdenum (IV)

This thesis describes the synthesis, structural studies, stoichiometric and catalytic reactivity of novel Mo(IV) imido hydride complexes (Cp)(ArN)Mo(H)(PMe3) (1) and (Tp )(ArN)Mo(H)(PMe3) (2). Both 1 and 2 catalyze hydrosilylation of a variety of carbonyls. Detailed kinetic and DFT studies found that 1 reacts by an unexpected associative mechanism, which does not involve Si-H addition either to the imido group or the metal. Despite 1 being a d2 complex, its reaction with PhSiH3 proceeds via a a-bond metathesis mechanism giving the silyl derivative (Cp )(ArN)Mo(SiH2Ph)(PMe3). In the presence of BPh3 reaction of 1 with PhSiH3 results in formation of (Cp)(ArN)Mo(SiH2Ph)(H)2 and (Cp)(ArN)Mo(SiH2Ph)2(H), the first examples ofMo(VI) silyl hydrides. AI: 1 : 1 reaction between 2, PhSiD3 and carbonyl substrate established that hydrosilylation is not accompanied by deuterium incorporation into the hydride position of the catalyst, thus ruling out the conventional mechanism based on carbonyl insertion carbonyl. As 2 is nomeactive to both the silane and ketone, the only mechanistic alternative we are left with is that the metal center activates the carbonyl as a Lewis acid. The analogous nonhydride mechanism was observed for the catalysis by (ArN)Mo(H)(CI)(PMe3), (Ph3P)2(I)(O)Re(H)(OSiMe2Ph) and (PPh3CuH)6. Complex 2 also catalyzes hydroboration of carbonyls and nitriles. We report the first case of metal-catalyzed hydroboration of nitriles as well as hydroboration of carbonyls at very mild conditions. Conversion of carbonyl functions can be performed with high selectivities in the presence of nitrile groups. This thesis also reports the first case of the HlH exchange between H2 and Si-H of silanes mediated by Lewis acids such as Mo(IV) , Re(V) , Cu(I) , Zn(II) complexes, B(C6Fs)3 and BPh3.

Half-sandwich silane complexes of ruthenium and iron : synthesis, structure and application to catalysis

The present thesis describes syntheses, structural studies, and catalytic reactivity of new non-classical silane complexes of ruthenium and iron. The ruthenium complexes CpRu(PPri3)CI(T]2-HSiR3) (1) (SiR3 = SiCh (a), SiClzMe (b), SiCIMe2 (c), SiH2Ph (d), SiMe2Ph (e» were prepared by reactions of the new unsaturated complex CpRu(PPri3)CI with silanes. According to NMR studies and X-ray analyses, the complexes la-c exhibit unusual simultaneous Si··· H and Si··· CI-Ru interactions. The complex CpRu(PPri3)CI was also used for the preparation of the first examples of late transition metal agostic silylamido complexes CpRu(PPri3)(N(T]2-HSiMe2)R) (2) (R= Ar or But), which were characterized by NMR spectroscopy. The iron complexes CpFe(PMePri2)H2(SiR3) (3) (SiR3 = SiCh (a), SiClzMe (b), SiCIMe2 (c), SiH2Ph (d), SiMe2Ph (e» were synthesized by the reaction of the new borohydride iron complex CpFe(PMePri2)(B~) with silanes in the presence NEt3. The complexes 3 exhibit unprecedented two simultaneous and equivalent Si··· H interactions, which was confirmed by X-ray analyses and DFT calculations. A series of cationic ruthenium complexes [CpRu(PR3)(CH3CN)(112-HSiR'3)]BAF (PR3 = PPri 3 (4), PPh3 (5); SiR'3 = SiCh (a), SiClzMe (b), SiClMe2 (c), SiH2Ph (d), SiMe2Ph (e» was obtained by substitution of one of the labile acetonitrile ligands in [CpRu(PR3)(CH3CNh]BAF with sHanes. Analogous complexes [TpRu(PR3)(CH3CN)(T]2 -HSiR' 3)]BAF (5) were obtained by the reaction of TpRu(PR3)(CH3CN)CI with LiBAF in the presence of silanes. The complexes 4-5 were characterized by NMR spectroscopy, and the observed coupling constants J(Si-H) allowed us to estimate the extent of Si-H bond activation in these compounds. The catalytic activity in hydrosilylation reactions of all of the above complexes was examined. The most promising results were achieved with the cationic ruthenium precatalyst [CpRu(PPri3)(CH3CN)2t (6). Complex 6 shows good to excellent catalytic activity in the hydrosilylation of carbonyls, dehydrogenative coupling of silanes with alcohols, amines, acids, and reduction of acid chlorides. We also discovered very selective reduction of nitriles and pyridines into the corresponding N-silyl imines and l,4-dihydropyridines, respectively, at room temperature with the possibility of catalyst recycling. These chemoselective catalytic methods have no analogues in the literature. The reactions were proposed to proceed via an ionic mechanism with intermediate formation of the silane a-complexes 4.