This grant from the Organic Dynamics Program supports the work of Professor Greg A. Slough at the College of Wooster. The hydrosilylation of ketones with a co-catalytic mixture of Wilkinson's catalyst and galvinoxyl radical will be investigated. Mechanistic studies will attempt to provide evidence for a ketyl radical intermediate. A series of 4-substituted phenyl cyclopropyl ketones and 5-hexenones will be investigated. The use of a chiral Wilkinson's catalyst to explore the effect of galvinoxyl on chiral induction and the effect of the chiral ligand on the reaction will also be examined. The scope of the reaction will be determined with a series of "5-hexenones" which ultimately produce cyclized products. %%% The ability of specifically designed materials to speed up organic transformations (catalysis) will be studied. The intimate details of how a metal containing compound can catalyze the delivery of a hydrogen to an organic molecule will be explored. The ability of this system to specifically produce only one of the two possible products which are mirror images of each other will also be investigated. The results obtained from this study will provide information which can be used to improve the ability to construct important molecules.
