New Approaches to the Synthesis of Pyrrolidines from 2-Azaallyl Anions and Azomethine Ylides

Pyrrolidines are ubiquitous chemical compounds. They are five-membered cyclic amines, found in many natural products, pharmaceuticals and catalysts. The synthesis of pyrrolidines and especially their enantioselective synthesis, is an important and long-standing challenge in organic chemistry. The research undertaken during the course of this PhD sought to explore new approaches for their formation. Consequently, this thesis has successfully detailed novel methods of accessing two distinctive reactive intermediates that were transformed into the required pyrrolidines and other functionalised amines. In addition, a modestly enantioselective reaction was also discovered, that is viable for future optimisation.