Organolithium with carbonyl complexes

MetalIa-/3-diketonate complexes, such as 1, are conveniently prepared by reacting acylmetal carbonyl complexes with strong bases that can also react as nucleophiles, such as organolithium, Grignard, or boron hydride reagents [Eq. (1)]. These reactions can be followed by IR spectroscopy. 

MO modeling (HF/3-21G) of the reaction of organolithium compounds with carbonyl groups has examined the interaction of formaldehyde with the dimer of methyllithium. The reaction is predicted to proceed by initial complexation of the carbonyl group at lithium, followed by a rate-determining formation of the new carbon-carbon bond. The cluster then reorganizes to incorporate the newly formed alkoxide ion. The TS is reached very early in the second step with only slight formation of the C—C bond. This feature is consistent with the fast and exothermic nature of the addition step. 

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. 

The chemical behavior of heteroatom-substituted vinylcarbene complexes is similar to that of a,(3-unsaturated carbonyl compounds (Figure 2.17) [206]. It is possible to perform Michael additions [217,230], 1,4-addition of cuprates [151], additions of nucleophilic radicals [231], 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions [232,233], inter-[234-241] or intramolecular [220,242] Diels-Alder reactions, as well as Simmons-Smith- [243], sulfur ylide- [244] or diazomethane-mediated [151] cyclopropanati-ons of the vinylcarbene C-C double bond. The treatment of arylcarbene complexes with organolithium reagents ean lead via conjugate addition to substituted 1,4-cyclohexadien-6-ylidene complexes [245]. 

The reaction of transition-metal carbonyls with organolithium compounds to give metal carbene complexes is now well known it can also take place when the metal is linked to a group IV atom, as in the following series of reactions (426). 

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