Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Suzuki-Miyaura Reactions Are Used To Synthesize Z-Alkenes From Cyclic Boronic Half-Acids, Daniel Lee French

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Cis-Alkenes provide the basic structure and reactivity for a variety of compounds, from the common chemicals found in any organic laboratory to advanced drugs used to treat cancer or suppress the immune system (Littke & Fu, 2002). Synthetically, alkenes are also of use in that they serve as a site for further chemistry. Historically, Z-alkenes have been more difficult to synthesize than their E-counterparts (McNulty et al., 2010; Siau, Zhang, & Zhao, 2012). Furthermore, in many reactions, a mixture of E- and Z- conformations of the alkene is produced. Such differences may seem trivial upon first inspection, but because there …