Phenyllithium complexes aggregates

Wen and Grutzner used, among other NMR parameters, the QSC of the lithium enolate of acetaldehyde to deduce that it exists as tetramers of different solvation in THF and THF/n-hexane solvent systems . However, the most thorough study of Li QSC and the most interesting in the present context was reported by Jackman and coworkers in 1987167 -pjjg effects on the QSC values of both aggregation and solvation in a number of organolithium systems was studied in this paper, i.e. different arylamides, phenolates, enolates, substituted phenyllithium complexes and lithium phenylacetylide. 

In the solid state NMR study, uncomplexed phenyllithium, assumed to be a tetramer, as well as the TMEDA complexed dimer and the PMDTA complexed monomer were investigated. Both Li and Li isotopes were used in the preparations. The C spectra of the complexes are presented in Figure 12. It is evident that the substitution of Li with Li has profound effects on the Unewidths, especially of the ipso-carbon at ca 180 ppm in the aggregated uncomplexed system (Figure 12a and 12b, respectively). This is in accordance with the previously mentioned study of methyllithium. However, even the other positions are affected by the dipolar couplings to the four quadrupolar lithium cations, but to a lesser extent due to the larger C-Li distances. 

In THF, the alkyllithium compounds are aggregated [157] and the situation is reminiscent of the conditions in hydrocarbon solutions. At high concentrations, the association number (i. e. the number of molecules in the aggregate) decreases. This anomaly is explained by the existence of aggregate—solvent complexes, for example (MeLi)4 8THF Benzyllithium and its polymeric analogue polystyryllithium are not associated. Phenyllithium is mostly present as a dimer or monomer. Both forms are in equilibrium and are solvated. Only the monomeric form of the initiator is active. In practice, benzyllithium reacts only in the form of an ion pair. The fraction of the free benzyl anion must be very small [151c]. 

An interesting mixed tetrameric complex containing three equivalents of phenyllithium and one equiv-alent of lithium bromide, i.e. [(PhLi)3-LiBr3Et20], depicted as (116), has been characterized." In this mixed aggregate the lithium atom diagonally opposite Ae bromide in the tetramer rem s unsolvated by an ether molecule. Recall that the cyclopropyllithium lithium bromide-diethyl ether complex (44) with... 

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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