Organolithium reagents alkyllithium

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. 

Organolithium reagents in which the carbanion is delocalized are more useful than alkyllithium reagents in alkylation reactions. Allyllithium and benzyllithium reagents can be alkylated and with secondary alkyl bromides and a high degree of inversion of configuration is observed.78... 

How well an organolithium reagent fares as an exchange component depends on its basicity. Thus, tert-butyllithium outperforms iec-butyllithium, which in turn is superior to butyllithium. MethyUithium is the least reactive alkyllithium but still surpasses phenyl-lithium, at least at low concentrations, i.e. the order is ... 

This reagent was obtained either from Aldrich Chemical Company, Inc., or Lithium Corporation of America, Bessemer City, NC. A technical data sheet is available from the suppliers. Solutions of ca. 2 M were titrimetrically analyzed for active alkyllithium by the tosylhydrazone method. It is advisable to make certain that the organolithium reagent to be used was prepared in pentane solution. This evaluation can be easily accomplished by the gas chromatographic analysis of the organic layer obtained from the hydrolysis, under a nitrogen atmosphere, of the tert-butyllithium solution to be used. Isobutane and pentane should comprise essentially all of the... 

The presence of the phenyl ring is not essential for the carbometallation to proceed. For example, treatment of diallylamines, or related systems, with alkyllithium reagents leads to several trianionic intermediates [87] (Scheme 7-74). The interaction of the lithium atom of the amide with the alkyl group of the organolithium reagent together with the simultaneous proximity effect allows the coordination of the double bond to the lithium atom and consequently the addition reaction occurs. 

The reaction of cerium reagents with imines and nitriles which possess a-hydrogens has been studied by Wada et al ° Available data indicate that the reagents do not effectively d to these substrates, although the results are better than with alkyllithiums themselves. A modification of the procedure improves the yields of addition products. Thus, addition of the organocerium or organolithium reagent to an... 

The reaction of alkyllithium reagents with acyclic and cyclic tosylhydrazones can lead to mixtures of elimination (route A) and addition (route B) products (Scheme 22). The predominant formation of the less-substituted alkene product in the former reaction (Shapiro Reaction) is a result of the strong preference for deprotonation syn to the N-tosyl group. Nucleophilic addition to the carbon-nitrogen tosyl-hydrazone double bond competes effectively wiA a-deprotonation (and alkene formation) if abstraction of the a-hydrogens is slow and excess organolithium reagent is employed. Nucleophilic substitution is consistent with an Su2 addition of alkyllithium followed by electrophilic capture of the resultant carbanion. 

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