NOVEL SYNTHETIC ORGANOCATALYTIC METHODOLOGIES

The objective of this PhD study was to apply organocatalytic synthetic methods for the regio- and stereoselective synthesis of highly functionalized compounds. We exploited different organocatalytic activation modes to peculiar substrates we identified as suitable building blocks for versatile products in enantiomerically enriched form. In particular the developed projects relied on stereoselective amino- and hydrogen bonding organocatalysis, employing beta-nitroacrylates, beta-trifluoromethylated nitroalkenes and 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl 2-[(1,3-dithian)-2-yl]-ethanthioate in combination with various reaction partners, thus finding entries to valuable intermediates suitable for further subsequent transformations. The first Chapter of this thesis aim to give a general overview on those fields of organocatalysis related to the research topics studied in this PhD program, the second Chapter offers a literature background of the employed substrates. Following five Chapters (3-7) and Appendix report the discussion on the obtained results. According to our opinion, this PhD study offers solid examples of robustness, versatility and effectiveness of stereoselective organocatalytic strategies, which have been applied to interesting starting materials and in innovative reaction media, thus giving a reliable contribution to expand the boundaries of this field.