AbstractIn alkyllithium chemistry the highest reactivity has historically been linked to the smallest degree of aggregation possible. Since tert‐butyllithium is known to form a monomer in tetrahydrofuran solution, using just stoichiometric amounts of the lewis base to selectively form a dimeric species seemed irrational. In this study, we showed a considerable increase of the reactivity of t‐BuLi when using stoichiometric amounts of THF in the non‐polar solvent n‐pentane in order to enable the deprotonation of simple methyl silanes and other low C−H−acidic substrates. In this context, we were able to obtain the corresponding aggregates of t‐BuLi with the ligand THF in suspension and as crystalline solids and investigate them by single crystal X‐ray structural analysis, in situ FTIR spectroscopy and quantum chemical calculations. Furthermore, we were able to explain the enhanced reactivity of t‐BuLi with stoichiometric amounts of THF on the basis of structural features of the bridged dimer obtained under these conditions. With these findings, we present a new target in the aggregation of alkyllithium reagents: the selectively formed “frustrated” aggregates!
摘要在烷基锂化学中,最高的反应活性历来与尽可能小的聚集程度有关。由于叔丁基锂在四氢呋喃溶液中形成单体是已知的,因此仅使用一定量的路易斯碱来选择性地形成二聚物似乎是不合理的。在这项研究中,我们发现当在非极性溶剂正戊烷中使用等量的四氢呋喃时,t-BuLi 的反应活性大大提高,从而能够对简单的甲基硅烷和其他低 C-H 酸性底物进行去质子化反应。在这种情况下,我们获得了 t-BuLi 与配体 THF 在悬浮液中的相应聚集体和结晶固体,并通过单晶 X 射线结构分析、原位傅立叶变换红外光谱和量子化学计算对其进行了研究。此外,我们还根据在这些条件下获得的桥联二聚体的结构特征,解释了 t-BuLi 与等量 THF 反应性增强的原因。通过这些发现,我们提出了烷基锂试剂聚集的一个新目标:选择性形成的 "受挫 "聚集体!