Harnessing the Power of Palladium/Norbornene Cooperative Catalysis for the Modular Synthesis of Organic Materials

The groundbreaking Palladium/norbornene cooperative catalysis, also known as the Catellani reaction, was pioneered by Prof. Marta Catellani in 1997. This transformative reaction integrates the merits of traditional cross-coupling reactions and ortho-functionalization into a single process, offering a remarkably step-economical way to access complex polysubstituted aromatic compounds. Its versatility has proven invaluable to both organic chemists and material scientists alike. Within this dissertation, I explore my profound fascination with leveraging the Catellani reaction for methodology development in azaborine functionalization, and the synthesis of various materials such as dendrons and graphene nanoribbons. While engaging in the synthesis of graphene nanoribbons aimed for potential biomedical applications, my interest in graphene-based nanomaterials for such purposes grew stronger. Consequently, the final chapter of this dissertation offers a comprehensive review of graphene-based nanomaterials within the context of biomedical applications.