Gold-catalyzed cycloisomerization strategies for the stereoselective synthesis of carbocycles from alkynes

Abstract

for his continuing support, motivation throughout the course of my Phd study. His constant patience, research enthusiasm, knowledge and technical skills of chemistry were of great importance to complete my thesis. Dr. Chan's ability of being considerate for students and encouragement have been of great value to me. Certainly, no words could express my gratitude and I will forever be grateful for his guidance. I would like to take this opportunity to express my thanks to my lab mates Weidong, Prasath, Ella, Dewi, Wan Teng, Sally, Ciputra, Jianwen and Jianming for providing me a friendly and joyful learning and working environment. Particularly I want to thank Weidong for his being patience, guidance in research. I also would like to extend my thanks to Ng Jia Huan Charmaine and Guan Liang Tay who have worked with me during their FYP studies and given their invaluable contributions to the work presented in this thesis and also thank to all undergraduate students. I would like to thank the CBC staff, Eeling, Wenwei, Siewping, Shuqi, Dr. Attapol Pinsa and Dr. Li Yongxin for their assistance with instrument training/usage such as NMR, LC-MS and X-ray crystallography. My sincere thanks to Celine and Weiting for her assistance in administrative matters, particularly issues related to thesis submission as well as conference matters. On that note, I would like to thank my best friends Liuyu, Xiangjian, Zhaokai, Yaojia, Jili and others for their care, support and encouragement during the past few years. I wish to express my deepest gratitude to Nanyang Technological University for the financial support in the past four years and giving me the opportunity to attend the overseas conferences. Last but not least, I would like to thank my family, particularly my parents, sister and husband for their unconditional love and support through all my ups and downs in Singapore. Certainly, without them I would not have made it this far. iii