This presentation will examine aspects of reactivity and selectivity discovered through the exploration of the chemistry of high-valent nuclei [Au(III), Pt(IV), and I(III)]. The first part concerns two examples wherein transition metals are examined as substrates for catalytic reactions rather than in their traditional role as catalysts. Operating from this perspective, supramolecular catalysis of C(sp3)-C(sp3) reductive elimination and organoborane catalyzed C(sp3)-CF3 reductive elimination will be discussed, with the latter applied to [18F]-radiotrifluoromethylation. The second section will continue the focus on fluorination through the development of a new aryliodine catalyst for enantioselective olefin difluorination, exploring structural features that improve catalyst robustness and selectivity and enabling the preparation of chiral fluorinated building blocks.




Mark Levin, PhD (Harvard University)