Amide, sodium reactions with organolithium

Other bases may be employed, e.g. lithium hydride, sodium hydride, sodium amide or sodium in ethylene glycol with sodium in ethylene glycol, the reaction is called the Bamford-Stevens reaction. Aldehyde tosylhydrazones (200) do not form dianions with organolithiums, but the reagent adds to the carbon-nitrogen double bond to give the dilithium derivative (201) which decomposes to the organolithium compound (202). 

Pyridine is an aromatic 6n electron heterocycle, which is isoelectronic with benzene, but electron deficient. Nucleophiles thus add almost invariably to carbon C2 of the imine-like C=N double bond. Perhaps the best known nucleophilic addition is the Chichibabin reaction with sodium amide in liquid ammonia, giving 2-aminopyr-idine. Reactions of the quinoline moiety of cinchona alkaloids can be more complex. Although expected 2 -addition can be achieved easily with organolithium reagents to yield 13 (Scheme 12.6) [9], LiAlH4, for example, has been shown to attack C4 en route to quincorine and quincoridine (Schemes 12.4 and 12.5). C4 selectivity is due to chelation of aluminum by the C9 OH oxygen. 

Alternatively these compounds may be obtained from dialkylamino phosphine halides by reaction with alkyl magnesium halides ((7.168) and (7.169)), aluminium alkyls ((7.170) and (7.171)) or organolithium derivatives ((7.172) and (7.173)). Phenylphosphinous chloride can be condensed with a sodium amide derivative (7.174) or a trimethylsilyl derivative (7.175) to give a phosphinous amide. 

The alkyl halide must be one that is reactive toward SN2 displacement. Alkyltriphenylphosphonium halides are only weakly acidic, and strong bases must be used for deprotonation. These include organolithium reagents, the sodium salt of dimethyl sulfoxide, amide ion, or substituted amide anions such as hexamethyldisilylamide (HMDS). The ylides are not normally isolated so the reaction is carried out either with the carbonyl compound present or it may be added immediately after ylide formation. Ylides with nonpolar substituents, for example, H, alkyl, or aryl, are quite reactive toward both ketones and aldehydes. Scheme 2.16 gives some examples of Wittig reactions. 

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