Cuprates, lithium, higher order

Cuprate, dibutyl-, lithium, reaction with acetylene, 66, 62 Cuprates, higher order, 66, 57... 

An important type of mixed cuprate is prepared from a 2 1 ratio of an alkyllithium and CuCN.11 Called higher-order cyanocuprates, their composition is R2CuCNLi2 in THF solution, but it is thought that most of the molecules are probably present as dimers. The cyanide does not seem to be bound directly to the copper, but rather to the lithium cations.12 The dimers most likely adopt an eight-membered ring motif.13... 

Thienyl(cyano)copper lithium S Cu(CN)Li xhe reagent is obtained by reaction of thiophene with BuLi in THF at - 78° and then with CuCN at - 40°. The reagent is fairly stable and can be stored in THF at - 20° for about 2 months. It is inert, but is readily converted by addition of RLi or RMgX into a higher-order mixed cuprate, which is as efficient as the freshly prepared cuprate."1... 

A large variety of cuprates are known nowadays. They include heteroleptic derivatives R(Y)CuM (Y = alkynyl, halide, amido, alkoxide, thiolato, phosphide M = Li or Mg), and have found widespread application in organic chemistry. Their syntheses and applications are discussed in the other chapters of this book. In addition, compounds in which the copper to lithium (or magnesium) ratio differs from 1 1 are also known examples are R3CuLi2 and the so-called higher order cyanocuprates introduced by Lipshutz et al. [99]. 

So far, only cuprates with a 1 1 copper/lithium ratio have been considered. Treatment of phenyllithium with various substoichiometric quantities of copper bromide in DMS as solvent afforded so-called higher order cuprates, of which two were characterizable by X-ray crystallography. These have the overall stoichiometries Cu2Li3Ph5(DMS)4 and Cu4Li5Ph9(DMS)4 [114, 115). The structure of the former compound in the solid state is shown in Fig. 1.26. 

When the non-coordinating mesitoate system 156 was treated with lithium di-methylcuprate, formation of the anti-S 2 substitution product 157 was observed. Notably, the exclusive formation of the y-substitution product is the result of severe steric hindrance at the a-position, originating from the adjacent isopropyl group [78]. Conversely, the corresponding carbamate 158 was reported, on treatment with a higher order cuprate, to form the syn-SN2 product 159 exclusively [74]. The lithi-ated carbamate is assumed to coordinate the cuprate reagent (see 160), which forces the syn attack and gives trans-menthene (159). 

A 1,2-metalate rearrangement of a higher order cuprate, known as a Kodenski rearrangement [64], was used as a key step in the synthesis of the marine antiinflammatory sesterterpenoid manoalide 95 (Scheme 9.20) [65]. Treatment of the alkenyl lithium 89 (prepared from the alkenylstannane 88 with s-BuLi in a diethyl ether-pentane mixture) with the homocuprate 91 (produced from iodoalkane 90) gave the iodoalkene 94 in 72% overall yield from 88. The reaction proceeds as fol-... 

Conjugate addUion-cyclization. 3-Substituied 2-carbomethoxycyclopentanones are prepared conveniently in one step from dimethyl (2E)-hexenedioate by conjugate addition of lithium dialkyl cuprates or higher-order cyan[Pg.348]

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