Organolithium reagents addition reactions

The preparation of organolithiums by reaction (a) is of limited synthetic utility because the organomercurlals are prepared from other organometallic reagents, most often organomagnesium halides or organolithiums. In addition, reaction (a) is slow, although ultrasonic irradiation increases the rate. 

The addition of alkyl groups to carbonyl compounds is prototypically accomplished with the use of Grignard or organolithium reagents. The reactions are extremely fast, often over in milliseconds, even at -85 °C. 

The equatorial selectivity observed with organolithium reagents is enhanced in diethyl ether as the reaction solvent by the addition of lithium perchlorate (Table l)12. I3C-NMR studies47 indicate that the formation of a complex between lithium perchlorate and the carbonyl group, which also leads to a dramatic enhancement of the rate of the addition reaction, accounts for the increased diastereoselectivity. 

Most successful approaches involving addition reactions in the presence of chiral additives utilize organolithium, organomagnesium and the recently introduced organotitanium reagents, which are known to coordinate with amines, ethers, metal amides and alkoxides. 

The reaction of butyllithium with 1-naphthaldehyde cyclohexylimine in the presence of (/C )-l,2-diphenylethane-1,2-diol dimethyl ether in toluene at —78 °C, followed by treatment with acetate buffer, gave 2-butyl-1,2-dihydronaphthalene-l-carbaldehyde, which was then reduced with sodium borohydride in methanol to afford (1 R,2.S)-2-butyl-1 -hydroxymcthyl-1,2-dihydronaphthalene in 80% overall yield with 91 % ee83. Similarly, the enantioselective conjugate addition of organolithium reagents to several a,/J-unsaturated aldimines took place in the presence of C2-symmetric chiral diethers, such as (/, / )-1,2-butanediol dimethyl ether and (/, / )- ,2-diphenylethane-1,2-diol dimethyl ether. 

The addition reactions of alkyllithium-lithium bromide complexes to a-trimethylsilyl vinyl sulfones that have as a chiral auxiliary a y-mono-thioacetal moiety derived from ( + )-camphor are highly diastereoselective. A transition state that involves chelation of the organolithium reagent to the oxygen of the thioacetal moiety has been invoked. The adducts are readily converted via hydrolysis, to chiral a-substituted aldehydes22. 

When chiral additives such as ( —)-sparteine has added to the initial reaction with the organolithium reagent, quenching with CO2 produces carboxylic acids with good asymmetric induction. 

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