The focus of this thesis is twofold: The first is on the application of iron catalysis for organic transformations. The second is on the use of in situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) to investigate the mechanisms of a heterogeneous palladium-catalyzed reaction and a homogeneous ruthenium-catalyzed reaction.

In chapters two, three and four, the use of iron catalyst VI, or its analog X, is described for (I) the DKR of sec-alcohols to produce enantiomerically pure acetates; (II) the cycloisomerization of α-allenols and α-allenic sulfonamides, giving 2,3-dihydrofuran or 2,3-dihydropyrrole products, respectively, with excellent diastereoselectivity; and (III) the aerobic biomimetic oxidation of primary- and secondary alcohols to their respective aldehydes or ketones.

In the fifth chapter, XAS is used to elucidate the mechanisms of a Pd(II)-AmP-MCF-catalyzed lactonization reaction of acetylenic acids. The catalyst was known to deactivate during the reaction and the XAS studies identified the cause of this deactivation. A reactivation strategy was subsequently developed based on these findings.

In the sixth and final chapter, XAS is used to examine the activation mechanism of a ruthenium racemization catalyst and a ruthenium-acyl intermediate which had previously been speculated to be formed in the activation process was confirmed.