Vinyl halides reaction with lithium dialkylcuprates

A key step in the reaction mechanism appears to be nucleophilic attack on the alkyl halide by the negatively charged copper atom but the details of the mechanism are not well understood Indeed there is probably more than one mechanism by which cuprates react with organic halogen compounds Vinyl halides and aryl halides are known to be very unreactive toward nucleophilic attack yet react with lithium dialkylcuprates... 

Preparation of alkanes using lithium di alkylcuprates (Section 14 11) Two alkyl groups may be coupled together to form an alkane by the reaction of an alkyl hal ide with a lithium dialkylcuprate Both alkyl groups must be primary (or meth yl) Aryl and vinyl halides may be used in place of alkyl halides... 

Lithium dialkylcuprate reagents (Gilman reagents) are formed by the reaction of two equivalents of an organolithium reagent with cuprous iodide. Reaction of the dialkylcuprate with an alkyl, aryl, or vinyl halide forms a new carbon-carbon bond. 

Lithium dialkylcuprates and diarylcuprates (R2CuLi and Ar2CuLi) are prepared by the reaction of a copper(I) salt with two equivalents of the corresponding organolithium reagent and undergo cross-coupling with primary alkyl halides and aryl and vinylic halides. 

Methoxyallene has previously been used to prepare acetylenes via its reaction with Grignard reagents, in the presence of copper(i) halides.The use of preformed dialkylcuprates, however, gave the vinyl ethers instead. The E Z ratio varied with the substituent but it is difficult to explain why the difference is observed.Methoxyallene has also been converted into its vinyl anion and used in the synthesis of dihydrofurans and furans in an analogous way to ordinary vinyl ethers.Similarly allenic cuprates have been prepared and used in the synthesis of allenes and allenic pheromonessome examples are outlined in Scheme 58. The addition of lithium dimethylcuprate to allene phosphine oxides and allenic ketones was interpreted in terms of a 1,2- rather than a 1,4-addition process, in contrast to a/3-unsaturated... 

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