Copper organolithiums

These reagents contain a negatively charged copper atom and are formed by the reaction of a copper(l) salt with two equivalents of an organolithium reagent... 

This complex should be used when the organolithium is in solution in a hydrocarbon solvent. For organolithium reagents prepared in ether (see Note 4), the same complex may be used or, more conveniently, copper iodide (Cull can be used. The Cul purchased from Prolabo or Merck 4 Company, Inc. may be used directly. Other commercial sources of Cul (Fluka, Aldrich Chemical Company, Inc., Alfa Products, Morton/Thiokol, Inc.) furnish a salt which affords better results when purified. 1 mol of Cul is stirred for 12 hr with 500 ml of anhydrous tetrahydrofuran, then filtered on a sintered glass funnel ( 3), washed twice with 50 ml of anhydrous tetrahydrofuran, once with 50 ml of anhydrous ether and finally dried under reduced pressure (0.1 imO for 4 hr. 

Reaction between copper-containing compounds and organolithium... 

Organolithium compounds can add to a, (3-unsaturated ketones by either 1,2- or 1,4-addition. The most synthetically important version of the 1,4-addition involves organocopper intermediates, and is discussed in Chap 8. However, 1,4-addition is observed under some conditions even in the absence of copper catalysts. Highly reactive organolithium reagents usually react by 1,2-addition, but the addition of small amounts of HMPA has been found to favor 1,4-addition. This is attributed to solvation of the lithium ion, which attenuates its Lewis acid character toward the carbonyl oxygen.111... 

The stoichiometric reaction of organolithium or Grignard reagents with copper halides allows direct formation of organocopper species(103). 

Although the resulting vinylallenes 48 were usually obtained as mixtures of the E and Z isomers, complete stereoselection with regard to the vinylic double bond was achieved in some cases. In addition to enyne acetates, the corresponding oxiranes (e.g. 49) also participate in the 1,5-substitution (Scheme 2.18) and are transformed into synthetically interesting hydroxy-substituted vinylallenes (e.g. 50) [42], Moreover, these transformations can also be conducted under copper catalysis by simultaneous addition of the organolithium compound and the substrate to catalytic amounts of the cuprate (see Section 3.2.3). 

The 1,6-addition reaction can also be conducted with catalytic amounts of copper however, very carefully controlled reaction conditions were required to minimize the competitive 1,2-addition reaction [122]. Using 3-5mol% of copper (2-dimethylamino-methy)thiophenolate (160) suspended in diethyl ether, simultaneous addition of the substrate 157 and an organolithium reagent 158 at 0 °C resulted in the formation of various substituted /i-allenylcarboxylatcs 159 (Scheme 3.82). The yields from the catalytic reactions were comparable to those from analogous stoichiometric procedures. 

In general, copper-zinc compounds, unlike organolithium-derived organocopper reagents, undergo clean addition reactions to nitroolefins. After Michael addition, the resulting zinc nitronates can be oxidatively converted into polyfunctional ketones, such as 117 (Scheme 2.45) [96]. 

As well as alkenylstannanes [106-108], other classes such as a-heteroatom-substituted alkyltributylstannanes [109] and, more importantly, allylic stannanes [110, 111] also undergo these Sn-Cu transmetalations. Otherwise difficult to prepare, allylic copper reagents may, however, be obtained by treatment of allylic stannanes (produced in turn from organolithium, magnesium, or zinc organometallics) with Me2CuLi LiCN. They enter into cross-coupling reactions with alkyl bromides [110] or vinyl triflates (Scheme 2.52) [111]. 

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