Lewis Acids in Autocatalytic and Dearomative Reactions

This thesis encloses the application of Lewis acids (LAs) in autocatalytic and dearomative reactions. In both cases, LA is invoked to change the reactivity of starting materials. Thus, in the case of autocatalysis, studied reactions proceed with increasing Lewis acidity of the media. The enhanced acidity allows reaction rate enhancement. In chapter 6, dearomatization of naphthols is enabled in virtue of coordination of LA to the aromatic compound. This coordination proceeds with the formation of ketone intermediate, which reacts with nucleophiles resulting in dearomatized products