"Transition metal catalysis proves a powerful tool to achieve otherwise synthetically challenging, or even impossible, transformations with (high) selectivity and is therefore employed in various areas of chemistry. Recently, transition metal-catalysed reactions have been successfully performed in cells (in vitro) and living systems (in vivo). The achievements made thus far reveal the potential of transition metal catalysis and its applications in such biological settings. Interestingly, the scope is limited compared to the breadth of transition metal-catalysed reactions that have been unlocked for synthetic applications. Translating transition metal-catalysed reactions from flasks to cells is non-trivial as the conditions in cells are fairly different compared to the highly controlled and adaptable conditions achieved in a flask. The development of catalytic systems for future applications in vivo therefore proceeds through many steps, starting with evaluating their reactivity, selectivity, and stability in water and under biologically relevant and biomimetic conditions. By exploring transition metal-catalysed reactions in water for in vivo applications, this dissertation has contributed to the subfield of bioorthogonal chemistry devoted to complementing Nature’s repertoire of reactions. Our studies have revealed the challenges associated with the performance of transition metal catalysis in aqueous media and how a detailed understanding of a catalytic system can address them. Apart from these fundamental studies, we have performed explorative studies under biologically relevant and biomimetic conditions in the context of intracellular drug synthesis. Moreover, we have developed a new and compatible protocol that enables detailed kinetic studies in complex reaction media, comparable to the cellular environment, to facilitate the translation of transition metal catalysis from flasks to cells."--

The goal of this dissertation is to explore the application of transition metals in two energy-intensive processes, photochemical water oxidation and olefin/paraffin separation. Photochemical water splitting is widely studied and involves the exploitation of renewable resources solar energy and water to produce clean hydrogen along with oxygen. Water oxidation process to make oxygen is not thermodynamically and kinetically feasible, thus catalysts which can promote this reaction are needed. With efficient water oxidizing catalysts, the entire water splitting process is promoted. We are focusing on birnessite as catalysts for photochemical water oxidation. Birnessite are layered manganese oxides with intercalated cations and water molecules in the interlayer space. They are known as moderate water oxidizing catalysts. We have developed two strategies to enhance water oxidizing catalytic activity of birnessite. Our first strategy was the deposition of birnessite on zeolite surfaces. The synthesis method involves ion-exchanging Mn2+ cations along with alkaline earth metal co-cations (M2+: Mg2+, Ca2+, Sr2+, Ba2+) into zeolite followed by the precipitation of manganese oxides on zeolite surfaces. M2+ cations control the loading of Mn2+ cations into zeolite, such that the larger cationic size of M2+, the lower the loading of Mn. These samples are amorphous manganese oxides and referred to as M2+MnOx-Y. After treating with high concentration of K+ cations, there was improvement in crystallinity in manganese oxides forming birnessite, and we refer to them as KMnOx-Y(M2+).

This book focuses on the drug discovery and development applications of transition metal catalyzed processes, which can efficiently create preclinical and clinical drug candidates as well as marketed drugs. The authors pay particular attention to the challenges of transitioning academically-developed reactions into scalable industrial processes. Additionally, the book lays the groundwork for how continued development of transition metal catalyzed processes can deliver new drug candidates. This work provides a unique perspective on the applications of transition metal catalysis in drug discovery and development – it is a guide, a historical prospective, a practical compendium, and a source of future direction for the field.

Water is abundant in nature, non-toxic, non-flammable and renewable and could therefore be safer and economical for the chemical industry wherever it is used as a solvent. This book provides a comprehensive overview of developments in the use of water as a solvent for metal catalysis, illustrating the enormous potential of water in developing new catalytic transformations for fi ne chemicals and molecular materials synthesis. A group of international experts cover the most important metalcatalyzed reactions in water and bring together cutting-edge results from recent literature with the first-hand knowledge gained by the chapter authors. This is a must-have book for scientists in academia and industry involved in the fi eld of catalysis, greener organic synthetic methods, water soluble ligands and catalyst design, as well as for teachers and students interested in innovative and sustainable chemistry.

Aiming at the generation of hydrogen from water, electrochemical water splitting represents a promising clean technology for generating a renewable energy resource. The book reviews the fundamental aspects and describes recent research advances. Properties and characterization methods for various types of electrocatalysts are discussed, including noble metals, earth-abundant metals, metal-organic frameworks, carbon nanomaterials and polymers. Keywords: Electrochemical Water Splitting, Renewable Energy Resource, Electrocatalysts, Oxygen Evolution Reaction (OER), Noble Metal Catalysts, Earth-Abundant Metal Catalysts, MOF Catalysts, Carbon-based Nanocatalysts, Polymer Catalysts, Transition Metal-based Electrocatalysts, Fe-based Electrocatalysts, Co-based Electrocatalysts, Ni-based Electrocatalysts, Metal Free Catalysts, Transition-Metal Chalcogenides, Prussian Blue Analogues.

The valency or oxidation state of a transition metal in a complex plays a large role in determining the reactivity of the complex. With transition metal chemistry, historically accessible chemistry has often focused on metals in a low oxidation state. However, transformations involving transition metals in high oxidation states are of equal importance in providing complex products for use in consumer products. Expanding the applications and understanding of transition metal complexes in high oxidation states is the focus of the research presented in this dissertation. Fundamental studies of how ligands interact with high valent metals is presented in chapters 2 and 3, where a chromium(VI) model complex has been used to study bonding interactions between this d0 transition metal and phosphine ligands. Practical application of high valent titanium(IV) catalysts to C--N bond forming reactions is presented in chapters 4--6. Finally, chapters 7 and 8 focus on the changes in the character of M--N double bonds, with M=Fe and Ru, as the metal is forced to higher oxidation states. Collectively, these studies demonstrate different approaches to the same general problems and questions of how chemists can better understand and utilize high valent transitions metals to do catalytically-target desired transformations.