The first part of the thesis covers the development and utilization of electronically modified (pentaarylcyclopentadienyl)Ru-complexes in the racemization of secondary alcohols. This study revealed that the electronic properties of the substrate were the main factors dictating whether β-hydride elimination or hydride re-addition becomes the rate-determining step of the racemization process. With this knowledge in hand, it proved to be possible to design more efficient racemization protocols by matching the electronic properties of catalyst and substrate.

The second part describes mechanistic work that aimed at elucidating the role of CO dissociation in the mechanism of secondary alcohol racemization catalyzed by a (pentaarylcyclopentadienyl)Ru-complex. From CO exchange studies, we demonstrated that CO dissociation occurred in the catalytically active tert-BuO-species as well as in the chloride precatalyst. Furthermore, an inhibition study showed that an increase of the partial pressure of CO had a negative influence on the racemization rate. Together, these two observations provide strong support for CO dissociation as a key step in the racemization of secondary alcohols.

The third part concerns the improved synthesis and characterization of a heterogeneous catalyst consisting of Pd nanoparticles immobilized on aminopropyl-functionalized siliceous mesocellular foam. The developed Pd nanocatalyst was found to be a highly efficient and recyclable catalyst for the aerobic oxidation of a wide range of primary and secondary alcohols to the corresponding aldehydes and ketones.

The fourth part deals with the successful application of the Pd nanocatalyst in chemically-induced H₂O oxidation, when using either ceric ammonium nitrate or [Ru(bpy)₃]³⁺ as the terminal oxidant. Remarkably, the Pd nanocatalyst proved to catalyze this reaction with high efficiency and the measured TOF was found to greatly exceed those of current state-of-the-art metal oxide catalysts.

The fifth and final part describes the co-immobilization of Pd nanoparticles and the enzyme Candida Antarctica Lipase B into the same cavities of mesocellular foam, to generate a “metalloenzyme-like” hybrid catalyst for the dynamic kinetic resolution of a primary amine. The close proximity of the two catalytic species led to an enhanced cooperativity between them and resulted in an overall more efficient tandem process. 

The main focus of this thesis lies in the development of new transition metal-catalyzed chemoenzymatic dynamic kinetic resolutions (DKR) of both alcohols and amines. The first part of the thesis deals with the development of new heterogeneous systems for the DKR of amines. The racemization catalysts in these different systems are all composed of palladium nanoparticles supported on either mesoporous silica or incorporated in a biocomposite that is composed of a bioactive cross-linked enzyme aggregate. 

The second part of the thesis deals with the development of a homogeneous iron catalyst in the racemization of sec-alcohols for the implementation in a chemoenzymatic DKR. Two protocols for the racemization of sec-alcohols are reported. The first one could not be combined with a chemoenzymatic kinetic resolution, although this was overcome in the second iron based protocol. 

Following the successful iron catalyzed chemoenzymatic DKR of sec-alcohols, the iron catalyst was used in the cyclization of α-allenic alcohols and N-protected amines to furnish 2,3-dihydrofurans and 2,3-dihydropyrroles, respectively. The cyclization is proceeding in a diastereoselective manner.

The last part of the thesis deals with attempts to further elucidate the mechanism of activation of a known ruthenium racemization catalyst. X-ray absorption spectroscopy using synchrotron radiation was used for this purpose.