Organolithium compounds reactions with halides

Benzyl methyl ether or allyl methyl ethers can be selectively metalated at the benzylic/allylic position by treatment with BuLi or sBuLi in THF at -40 °C to -80 C, and the resulting organolithium compounds react with primary and secondary alkyl halides, epoxides, aldehydes, or other electrophiles to yield the expected products [187, 252, 253]. With allyl ethers mixtures of a- and y-alkylated products can result [254], but transmetalation of the lithiated allyl ethers with indium yields y-metalated enol ethers, which are attacked by electrophiles at the a position (Scheme 5.29). Ethers with ft hydrogen usually undergo rapid elimination when treated with strong bases, and cannot be readily C-alkylated (last reaction, Scheme 5.29). Metalation of benzyl ethers at room temperature can also lead to metalation of the arene [255] (Section 5.3.11) or to Wittig rearrangement [256]. Epoxides have been lithiated and silylated by treatment with sBuLi at -90 °C in the presence of a diamine and a silyl chloride [257]. 

When an organolithium compound reacts with an organic halide the product is usually a hydrocarbon, reaction being analogous to a Wurtz-Fittig synthesis. However, the action of alkyl- or aryl-lithiums replaces the halogen by lithium in several halogenated heterocycles, aromatic ethers, and alkyl... 

The terminal methyl group of unsymmetrical ketone dimethylhydrazone is reactive, and is easily metalated with organolithium compounds. Subsequently, the substituted products are produced by reaction with halides as shown in eq. (3.25). These reactions are applied for the synthesis of dihydrojasmone [73]. 

Organolithium compounds react with alkylmetals or metal halides such as boron, magnesium, aluminum, copper, zinc and tellurium compounds, and the reactions give the ate complexes as shown in eqs. (3.32) and (3.33) [78]. 

Many organic halides do not react satisfactorily with lithium to form RLi ecMnpounds or with metallic magnesium to form Grignard reagents. The desired organolithium compound can often be prepared by a halogen-metal interconversion reaction ... 

Before we describe the applications of organometallic reagents to organic synthesis let us examine their preparation Organolithium compounds and other Group I organometal he compounds are prepared by the reaction of an alkyl halide with the appropriate metal... 

These compounds are sources of the nucleophilic anion RC=C and their reaction with primary alkyl halides provides an effective synthesis of alkynes (Section 9 6) The nucleophilicity of acetylide anions is also evident m their reactions with aldehydes and ketones which are entirely analogous to those of Grignard and organolithium reagents... 

Reactions of Enamine Salts with OrganometalUc Compounds Organolithium and organomagnesium compounds react with enamine salts to give amines substituted on the ix-carbon atoms. The treatment of. -dehydroquinolizidinium perchlorate (163) with alkylmagnesium halides gives 9-alkylated quinolizidines (164) (252,256). Formation of... 

Allenyl and 1- and 2-alkynyl sulfoxides have also been prepared by reaction of organomagnesium halides with sulfinate ester 19. 1-Alkynyl p-tolyl sulfoxides were prepared in good yield from 1-alkynylmagnesium halides plus ester 19 in toluene (equation ll)63. The corresponding organolithium compound was unsatisfactory as a... 

Next to the formation of Grignard reagents, the most important application of this reaction is the conversion of alkyl and aryl halides to organolithium compounds, but it has also been carried out with many other metals, (e.g., Na, Be, Zn, Hg, As, Sb, and Sn). With sodium, the Wurtz reaction (10-93) is an important side reaction. In some cases, where the reaction between a halide and a metal is too slow, an alloy of the metal with potassium or sodium can be used instead. The most important example is the preparation of tetraethyl lead from ethyl bromide and a Pb—Na alloy. 

Arylcopper intermediates can be generated from organolithium compounds, as in the preparation of cuprates.95 These compounds react with a second aryl halide to provide unsymmetrical biaryls in a reaction that is essentially a variant of the cuprate alkylation process discussed on p. 680. An alternative procedure involves generation of a mixed diarylcyanocuprate by sequential addition of two different aryllithium reagents to CuCN, which then undergo decomposition to biaryls on exposure to oxygen.96 The second addition must be carried out at very low temperature to prevent equilibration with the symmetrical diarylcyanocuprates. 

The nucleophilic displacement reactions of organolithium compounds with alkyl halides are second order insofar as the rates have been measured, but there are unexplained examples of autocatalysis and non-reproducable rate constants. The product of the reaction in the case of the methylallyl chlorides is the same mixture regardless of... 

Ge—metal bonds can be built in analogy as described for Ge—C bonds by the reaction of organolithium compounds with metal halides. With trans-dichlorobis(triethylphosphine)platinum(II), new germyl transition metal complexes were synthesized (equation 36)41. 

Several organolithium compounds have important apphcations in organic syntheses. These may be readily synthesized by reactions of lithium with organics. The metal reacts with alkyl or aryl halides or mercury alkyls or aryls to produce alkyl or aryl hthium. Some examples are ... 

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