Phenyllithium

Wittig l56) and Waack 157) showed ebullioscopically and osmometrically, respectively, that phenyllithium is a dimer in etheral solvents. Thonnes and Weiss, 58) found a TMEDA complexed phenyllithium dimer in the solid state, and calculations performed by Schleyer et al. 159) similarly showed the dimer to be the most stable species. The 13C nmr spectrum of phenyl-6Li in THF shows a quintuplet at —118 °C which also reveals a dimeric aggregate l49,160). Thus experimental investigations of the structure in solution and in the solid state as well as a theoretical study (corresponding to the situation in the gas-phase) lead remarkably to the same result a phenyllithium dimer structure seems to be the most stable one. 

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Similarly, thiazole reacts at —60°C with phenyllithium affording thiazol-2-yllithium (156) (13, 437). As in the case of the Grignard derivative, thiazolyllithium does not rearrange under heating as does the adduct of pyridine and butyllithium (438). 

Phenyllithium caimot be formed from fluoroben2ene. Instead, the electronegativity of fluorine makes the ortho hydrogen sufficiently acidic to permit reaction with / -butyUithium in tetrahydrofuran at —50°C to give 2-fluorophenyllithium [348-53-8]. An isomer, 4-fluoropheny11ithium [1493-23-8] was reported to be explosive in the soHd state (167). 

Anionic polymerization of vinyl monomers can be effected with a variety of organometaUic compounds alkyllithium compounds are the most useful class (1,33—35). A variety of simple alkyllithium compounds are available commercially. Most simple alkyllithium compounds are soluble in hydrocarbon solvents such as hexane and cyclohexane and they can be prepared by reaction of the corresponding alkyl chlorides with lithium metal. Methyllithium [917-54-4] and phenyllithium [591-51-5] are available in diethyl ether and cyclohexane—ether solutions, respectively, because they are not soluble in hydrocarbon solvents vinyllithium [917-57-7] and allyllithium [3052-45-7] are also insoluble in hydrocarbon solutions and can only be prepared in ether solutions (38,39). Hydrocarbon-soluble alkyllithium initiators are used directiy to initiate polymerization of styrene and diene monomers quantitatively one unique aspect of hthium-based initiators in hydrocarbon solution is that elastomeric polydienes with high 1,4-microstmcture are obtained (1,24,33—37). Certain alkyllithium compounds can be purified by recrystallization (ethyllithium), sublimation (ethyllithium, /-butyUithium [594-19-4] isopropyllithium [2417-93-8] or distillation (j -butyUithium) (40,41). Unfortunately, / -butyUithium is noncrystaUine and too high boiling to be purified by distiUation (38). Since methyllithium and phenyllithium are crystalline soUds which are insoluble in hydrocarbon solution, they can be precipitated into these solutions and then redissolved in appropriate polar solvents (42,43). OrganometaUic compounds of other alkaU metals are insoluble in hydrocarbon solution and possess negligible vapor pressures as expected for salt-like compounds. 

Phenyllithium. PhenyUithium [591-51-5] C H Li, forms colorless, monoclinic, pyrophoric crystals that do not melt before decomposition at... 

Phenyllithium can be used as a solution in ethyl ether, but because of its limited stabUity (t 2 = 12 d at 35° C) it is commercially available in solution in mixtures, usuaUy 70 30 wt % cyclohexane ethyl ether (117). In this particular mixture of solvents, a 20 wt % solution, free of chlorobenzene, is stable for at least four months under an inert atmosphere (argon or nitrogen) in sealed containers at room temperature. Phenyllithium is also available in dibutyl ether solution (117). It is classified as a flammable Hquid. 

Phenyllithium can be used in Grignard-type reactions involving attachment of phenyl group, eg, in the preparation of analgesics and other chemotherapeutic agents (qv). It also may be used in metal—metal interconversion reactions leading, eg, to phenyl-substituted siUcon and tin organics. 

Carbanions ia the form of phenyllithium, sodium naphthalene complex, sodium acetyHde, or aromatic Grignard reagents react with alkyl sulfates to give a C-alkyl product (30—33). Grignard reagents require two moles of dimethyl sulfate for complete reaction. 

N-protonation the absolute magnitude of the Ad values is larger than for Af-methylation <770MR(9)53>. Nuclear relaxation rates of and have been measured as a function of temperature for neat liquid pyridazine, and nuclear Overhauser enhancement has been used to separate the dipolar and spin rotational contributions to relaxation. Dipolar relaxation rates have been combined with quadrupole relaxation rates to determine rotational correlation times for motion about each principal molecular axis (78MI21200). NMR analysis has been used to determine the structure of phenyllithium-pyridazine adducts and of the corresponding dihydropyridazines obtained by hydrolysis of the adducts <78RTC116>. 

Phenyllithium in ether adds to pyridazine and 6-substituted pyridazines at position 3. By using TMEDA, addition at position 4 is strongly promoted (78RTC116). 

The addition of phenyllithium to 6-arylpyridazin-3(2Er)-one takes place at position 6 to give 6-aryl-3-oxo-6-phenyl-l,2,3,4-tetrahydropyridazine and the reaction of 6-aryl-2,4-diphenylpyridazin-3(2H)-one with phenyllithium or phenylmagnesium bromide affords 6-aryl-2,3,4,6-pentaphenyl-l,2,3,4-tetrahydropyridazine (80S457). 

Aryl-2-phenyl-4,5-dihydropyridazin-3(2//)-ones react either with phenylmagnesium bromide or with phenyllithium to give 6-aryl-2,6-diphenyl-l,4,5,6-tetrahydropyridazin-3(2//)-ones (135) (products of 1,2-addition to the azomethine bond), while 2-methyl-6-phenyl-4,5-dihydropyridazine-3(2//)-one reacts with two equivalents of phenylmagnesium bromide at the carbonyl and azomethine group to produce 2-methyl-3,3,6,6-tetraphenyl-hexahydropyridazine (136) (Scheme 53) (80JPR617). 

Diazirines (3) smoothly add Grignard compounds to the N—N double bond, giving 1-alkyldiaziridines. Reported yields are between 60 and 95% without optimization (B-67MI50800). The reaction is easily carried out on a preparative scale without isolation of the hazardous diazirines and may serve as an easy access to alkylhydrazines. The reaction was also used routinely to detect diazirines in mixtures. The diaziridines formed are easily detected by their reaction with iodide. Phenyllithium or ethylzinc iodide also add to (3) with diaziridine formation. 

An aryl methanesulfonate was cleaved to a phenol by phenyllithium or phen-ylmagnesium bromide it was reduced to an aromatic hydrocarbon by sodium in liquid ammonia. ... 

In the case of phenyllithium, it has been possible to demonstrate by NMR studies that the compound is tetrameric in 1 2 ether-cyclohexane but dimeric in 1 9 TMEDA-cyclohexane. X-ray crystal structure determinations have been done on both dimeric and tetrameric structures. A dimeric structure crystallizes from hexane containing TMEDA. This structure is shown in Fig. 7.1 A. A tetrameric structure incorporating four ether molecules forms from ether-hexane solution. This structure is shown in Fig. 7.IB. There is a good correspondence between the structures that crystallize and those indicated by the NMR studies. 

The reaction of phenyllithium and alfyl chloride labeled with C reveals that allylic rearrangement occurs. About three-fourths of the product results from bond formation at C-3 rather than C-1. This can be accounted for by a cyclic transition state. ... 

The 16a,l7a-epoxide (12) can be made to react with methylmagnesium bromide or methyllithium as well as phenyllithium to yield (13a) and (13b), respectively, after ketal cleavage. 

Periodic acid, 147, 151 Perlauric acid, 6 Persulfuric acid, 152 7-Phenylcholest-5-ene-3, 7 -diol, 60 Phenyliodosoacetate, 184, 221 Phenyllithium, 84... 

In addition, there is a cleavage reaction whereby a perfluoroorgamc group is cleaved from a metal by a base, for example, phenyllithium [4], ethylmagnesium bromide [5], or a fluoride ion [6] (equations 3-5)... 

The initial product formed when methyl vinyl ketone is mixed with an enamine [such as N,N-dimethylisobutenylamine (10)] is the dihydropyran (11) from a 1,4 cycloaddition (ll,20a,20b). The chemical reactions that the dihydropyran undergoes indicate that it is readily equilibrated with the cyclobutane isomer 12a and zwitterion 12 (11). Treatment of adduct 11 with phenyllithium gives cyclobutane 13, possibly via intermediate 12a (11). 

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