On 27 August at 14:15, Marta-Lisette Pikma will defend her doctoral thesis “Exploring the basicity of phosphanes and related compounds”.
Supervisors:
Associate Prof. Agnes Kütt, PhD, University of Tartu
Prof. Ivo Leito, PhD, University of Tartu
Opponent:
Dr Martin Smith, PhD, Department of Chemistry, Loughborough University (UK)
Summary:
Catalysts provide a means to enhance reaction efficiency or enable reactions to proceed under otherwise unfavorable conditions. Transition metal catalysts are widely employed in homogeneous catalysis and are typically paired with ligands that improve the catalyst’s activity, selectivity, or stability. Phosphanes are among the most commonly used ligands due to their tunable steric and electronic properties, which can be modified through substituent variation. This thesis consolidates previously scattered basicity data on phosphanes into a comprehensive overview and addresses gaps in the existing dataset. In addition, it proposes simplified approaches for evaluating phosphane properties to facilitate more efficient ligand screening. Finally, nine novel bases with favorable UV-Vis properties were synthesized and characterized. In total, 80 organophosphorus compounds were examined through either experimental or computational methods.
