Vinyl selenide anions, generated in DMF at 100°C, maintain the configuration of the vinyl methyl selenides from which they are produced by demethylation. This property has been used to effect an efficient three steps one pot stereospecific synthesis of vinyl alkyl selenides from unactivated vinyl halides.
Vinyl alkyl selenides can be dealkylated by nucleophilicsubstitution or by electron transfer to give vinyl selenide anions which retain the configuration of the starting products. The same anions are also produced by electron transfer from vinyl acetyl selenides. The vinyl selenide anions react with vinylhalides, in DMF or DMA, to give divinyl selenides. These reactions occur with retention of configuration