Lithium reaction with copper

Nucleophilic addition to acetylenic sulfoxides provides a,/ -ethylenic sulfoxides. Treatment of 181 with monoalkyl-copper afforded nearly quantitatively /J-alkylated a, / -ethylenic sulfoxides 182 through cis-addition to the triple bond. The reaction with lithium dimethylcuprate also afforded a similar adduct however, the reaction with lithium di-n-butylcuprate was found to give a small amount of ethyl n-butyl sulfoxide 183 besides the... 

Two methodologies for the direct C-2 arylation of thiazoles have been reported. The first one is mediated by both palladium and copper <07T1970>. Thus, the C-2 arylation of thiazole and benzothiazole with aryl iodides is carried out using copper iodide (2 equiv.) and a catalytic amount of palladium acetate under base-free conditions. The other method involves copper-catalyzed arylation with aryl iodides in the presence of lithium t-butoxide <07JA12404>. In general, reactions with lithium tert-butoxide provide better yields than those with potassium fert-butoxide. In addition, arylation with phenyl bromide, chloride or tosylate fails to provide any desired arylation products. 

Copper(II) chloride has often been employed in reactions with lithium and Grignard reagents to obtain organocopper(I) compounds. Two equivalents of the organometallic reagent are required, one of which is used to reduce Cu(II) to Cu(I). Unstable alkylcopper(II) compounds may be intermediates. The reaction is usually represented by the equation... 

By derivatizing an a,p-unsaturated acid into the mono ester of chiral 1,1 -bi-8,8 -naphthol the reaction with lithium dialkylcuprates leads to saturated ketones containing chirality centers at the p-carbon atoms." Consecutive 1,4-addition and 1,2-addition account for this result. The alkyl transfer to enones from Grignard reagents under copper catalysis is subject to chiral modification, e.g., by the introduction of 56" or 57." ... 

This type of copper-catalysed reaction was also extended to the alkynylation of alkenyldiiodonium salts (48), through reaction with lithium alkynyl cuprates. 

COPPER(I) CHLORIDE (7758-89-6) CuCl Noncombustible solid. Violent reaction with lithium nitride, nitric acid, potassium high heat. Incompatible with acetylene, hydrazine hydrazinium diperchlorate acids, acid fumes, and nitromethane. Thermal decomposition releases HCl. 

Cyclohexenones and Related Derivatives. House and Wilkins have now demonstrated that addition of lithium dimethylcuprate to 3-methylcyclohex-3-enone in 1 1 molar equivalents results in a solution of the lithium enolate and a precipitate of (MeCu). Even when soluble cuprous species occur, there is no evidence to suggest that reaction with lithium enolates to give copper(i) enolates occurs. In a 1,4-addition reaction phenylithio[(a-diethoxymethyl)vinyl] cuprate with cyclohexenone at 233 K in Et20 gave ultimately 88% of the 3-allylcyclohexanone (38) (a-diethoxymethyl)-vinylcopper gave the 1,2-addition product. 

In the first method a secondary acetylenic bromide is warmed in THF with an equivalent amount of copper(I) cyanide. We found that a small amount of anhydrous lithium bromide is necessary to effect solubilization of the copper cyanide. Primary acetylenic bromides, RCECCH Br, under these conditions afford mainly the acetylenic nitriles, RCsCCHjCsN (see Chapter VIII). The aqueous procedure for the allenic nitriles is more attractive, in our opinion, because only a catalytic amount of copper cyanide is required the reaction of the acetylenic bromide with the KClV.CuCN complex is faster than the reaction with KCN. Excellent yields of allenic nitriles can be obtained if the potassium cyanide is added at a moderate rate during the reaction. Excess of KCN has to be avoided, as it causes resinifi-cation of the allenic nitrile. In the case of propargyl bromide 1,1-substitution may also occur, but the propargyl cyanide immediately isomerizes under the influence of the potassium cyanide. 

A key step in the reaction mechanism appears to be nucleophilic attack on the alkyl halide by the negatively charged copper atom but the details of the mechanism are not well understood Indeed there is probably more than one mechanism by which cuprates react with organic halogen compounds Vinyl halides and aryl halides are known to be very unreactive toward nucleophilic attack yet react with lithium dialkylcuprates... 

Reactions of the Hydroxyl Group. The hydroxyl proton of hydroxybenzaldehydes is acidic and reacts with alkahes to form salts. The lithium, sodium, potassium, and copper salts of sahcylaldehyde exist as chelates. The cobalt salt is the most simple oxygen-carrying synthetic chelate compound (33). The stabiUty constants of numerous sahcylaldehyde—metal ion coordination compounds have been measured (34). Both sahcylaldehyde and 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde are readily converted to the corresponding anisaldehyde by reaction with a methyl hahde, methyl sulfate (35—37), or methyl carbonate (38). The reaction shown produces -anisaldehyde [123-11-5] in 93.3% yield. Other ethers can also be made by the use of the appropriate reagent. 

The formation of g-alkyl-a,g-unsaturated esters by reaction of lithium dialkylcuprates or Grignard reagents in the presence of copper(I) iodide, with g-phenylthio-, > g-acetoxy-g-chloro-, and g-phosphoryloxy-a,g-unsaturated esters has been reported. The principal advantage of the enol phosphate method is the ease and efficiency with which these compounds may be prepared from g-keto esters. A wide variety of cyclic and acyclic g-alkyl-a,g-unsaturated esters has been synthesized from the corresponding g-keto esters. However, the method is limited to primary dialkylcuprates. Acyclic g-keto esters afford (Zl-enol phosphates which undergo stereoselective substitution with lithium dialkylcuprates with predominant retention of stereochemistry (usually > 85-98i )). It is essential that the cuprate coupling reaction of the acyclic enol phosphates be carried out at lower temperatures (-47 to -9a°C) to achieve high stereoselectivity. When combined with they-... 

In the reactions of 10.13a with alkali metal terr-butoxides cage expansion occurs to give the sixteen-atom cluster 10.15, in which two molecules of MO Bu (M = Na, K) are inserted into the dimeric structure. The cluster 10.13a also undergoes transmetallation reactions with coinage metals. For example, the reactions with silver(I) or copper(I) halides produces complexes in which three of the ions are replaced by Ag" or Cu" ions and a molecule of lithium halide is incorporated in the cluster. ... 

One particularly valuable reaction of alkyllithiums is in making lithium diorganocop>per compounds, UR2CU, by reaction with copper(l) iodide in... 

In contrast, transmetalation of the lithium enolate at —40 C by treatment with one equivalent of copper cyanide generated a species 10b (M = Cu ) that reacted with acetaldehyde to selectively provide a 25 75 mixture of diastereomers 11 and 12 (R = CH3) which are separable by chromatography on alumina. Other diastereomers were not observed. Similar transmetalation of 10a (M = Li0) with excess diethylaluminum chloride, followed by reaction with acetaldehyde, produced a mixture of the same two diastereomers, but with a reversed ratio (80 20). Similar results were obtained upon aldol additions to other aldehydes (see the following table)49. 

Among other methods for the preparation of alkylated ketones are (1) the Stork enamine reaction (12-18), (2) the acetoacetic ester synthesis (10-104), (3) alkylation of p-keto sulfones or sulfoxides (10-104), (4) acylation of CH3SOCH2 followed by reductive cleavage (10-119), (5) treatment of a-halo ketones with lithium dialkyl-copper reagents (10-94), and (6) treatment of a-halo ketones with trialkylboranes (10-109). 

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