Organolithiums by reductive lithiation: the catalytic aromatic method versus the use of preformed aromatic radical-anions. Naphthalene can behave as a catalyst or an inhibitor
using aromaticradical-anions for reductivelithiation, the replacement of a C–heteroatom bond with a C–Li bond, have been compared with regard to yield and the mildness of reaction conditions required. It was found that the use of preformed radical-anions generally resulted in higher yields and milder reaction conditions than the ‘catalytic’ method in which catalytic amounts of the aromatic compound