Catalytic reactions arene lithiation

Tetrahydrofuran itself can be opened using either the stoichiometric or the catalytic version of arene-promoted lithiation, but both cases need the activation by boron trifluoride. The catalytic reaction was performed by treating the solvent THF 324 with the complex boron trifluoride-etherate and a catalytic amount (4%) of naphthalene. The intermediate 325 was formed. Further reaction with carbonyl compounds and flnal hydrolysis yielded the expected 1,5-diols 326 (Scheme 95), which could be easily cyclized to the corresponding substituted tetrahydropyrans under acidic conditions (concentrated FlCl). 

Allylic and benzylic ethers can also be cleaved using an arene-catalyzed lithiation, so the corresponding organohthium intermediates could be generated. Thus, different benzylic ethers 49 were hthiated using a catalytic amount of naphthalene (5%) to yield the expected intermediates 50, which after reaction with electrophiles and final hydrolysis gave products 51 (Scheme 16) . ... 

The corresponding catalytic version of this reaction was performed using either naphthalene- or biphenyl-supported polymers 594 or 595, respectively, which were prepared by cross-coupling copolymerization of 2-vinylnaphthalene or 4-vinylbiphenyl with vinyl-benzene and divinylbenzene promoted by AIBN in THF and polyvinyl alcohoP . These polymers have been used as catalysts (10%) in lithiation reactions involving either chlorinated functionalized compounds or dichlorinated materials in THF at —78°C and were re-used up to ten times without loss of activity, which is comparable to the use of the corresponding soluble arenes. 

Simple enamines cannot be deprotonated directly at the a-position due to their low acidity, but starting from a-chloroenamines 685, a-lithioenamines 686991 have been prepared by chlorine-lithium exchange using an arene-catalyzed lithiation992. The treatment of compounds 685 with an excess of lithium and a catalytic amount of 4,4 -di-tert-butylbiphenyl (DTBB) in THF at —90 °C allowed the preparation of intermediates 686, which were trapped with a variety of electrophiles (Scheme 177). For aldol reactions, the arene-catalyzed lithiation has to be performed in the presence of aldehydes (Barbier conditions) at —40 °C. These adducts were transformed into a-hydroxy ketones after acid hydrolysis with hydrochloric acid or silica gel. 

Cyclic alkyl aryl ethers lead also to functionalized organolithium compounds by reductive carbon-oxygen bond cleavage in arene-catalyzed lithiation process. Thus, the treatment of 2,3-dihydrobenzofuran (47) with an excess of lithium in the presence of a catalytic amount of DTBB in THF at 0°C gives the dianion (48) which after reaction with different carbonyl compounds and final hydrolysis with water leads to... 

A 1,2 or 1,3 unsymmetrically disubstituted arene is prochi-ral and therefore the corresponding chromium tricarbonyl compounds are chiral. (Substituted arene) complexes with amine, carboxyl, and formyl groups at the ortho position are resolved into optically active chromium complexes through corresponding diastereomeric adducts (eq 25). Biocatalysts also perform the kinetic resolution of racemic chromium complexes (eq 26). The optically active chromium complexes can be prepared by di-astereoselective ortho lithiation of the chiral benzaldehyde or acetophenone acetal complexes, and diastereoselective chromium complexation of the chiral ort/io-substituted benzaldehyde am-inals (eq 27). Catalytic asymmetric cross-coupling of meso (1,2-haloarene)chromium complex produces chiral monosubstituted complexes. The chiral (arene)chromium complexes can be used as ligands in asymmetric reactions. ... 

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