I. Spectroscopic Studies of Reduced MnO4 Ions and II. The Development of Nickel-Catalyzed C-N Coupling Reactions

Abstract

This thesis describes the use of UV-Visible spectroscopy to study reduced permanganate ions generated from aqueous KMnO4 in alkaline media. While the UV-Vis spectrum of KMnO4 has long been known and used for many applications including educational purposes, the UV-Vis spectrum of KMnO4 following reaction with aqueous KOH has been less thoroughly investigated. Here we present UV-Vis spectra at multiple timepoints for the reaction of KMnO4 with KOH, including calculations for the molar absorptivity using Beer’s Law. As a separate project, this thesis also describes the synthesis of known Ni complexes using aerobic techniques, which has not been demonstrated as possible before. These complexes were also tested for competency as (pre)catalysts for the Buchwald-Hartwig coupling of aryl halides with aryl and alkyl amines. The results of both projects are presented herein.