Gilman reagent

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General structure of a Gilman reagent Gilman reagent2.gif
General structure of a Gilman reagent

A Gilman reagent is a diorganocopper compound with the formula Li[CuR2], where R is an alkyl or aryl. They are colorless solids[ citation needed ].

Contents

Use in organic chemistry

A conjugated 1,4 addition using a Gilman reagent with an arbitrary R group Cuprate conjugate addition with lewis acid.png
A conjugated 1,4 addition using a Gilman reagent with an arbitrary R group

These reagents are useful because, unlike related Grignard reagents and organolithium reagents, they react with organic halides to replace the halide group with an R group (the Corey–House reaction). Such displacement reactions allow for the synthesis of complex products from simple building blocks. [1] [2] Lewis acids can be used to modify the reagent. [2]


Generalized chemical reaction showing Gilman’s reagent reacting with organic halide to form products and showing Cu(III) reaction intermediate

History

These reagents were discovered by Henry Gilman and coworkers. [3] Lithium dimethylcopper (CH3)2CuLi can be prepared by adding copper(I) iodide to methyllithium in tetrahydrofuran at −78 °C. In the reaction depicted below, [4] the Gilman reagent is a methylating reagent reacting with an alkyne in a conjugate addition, and the negative charge is trapped in a nucleophilic acyl substitution with the ester group forming a cyclic enone.

Scheme 1. Example Gilman reagent reaction Gilman reaction example.png
Scheme 1. Example Gilman reagent reaction
Gilman vs Grignard.jpg

Structure

Lithium dimethylcuprate exists as a dimer in diethyl ether forming an 8-membered ring. Similarly, lithium diphenylcuprate crystallizes as a dimeric etherate, [{Li(OEt2)}(CuPh2)]2. [5]

Lithium-diphenylcuprate-dietherate-dimer-from-xtal-3D-sticks-C.png Lithium-diphenylcuprate-etherate-dimer-from-xtal-2D-skeletal.png

If the Li+ ions is complexed with the crown ether 12-crown-4, the resulting diorganylcuprate anions adopt a linear coordination geometry at copper. [6]

Dimethylcuprate-anion-from-xtal-3D-balls.png Diphenylcuprate-anion-from-xtal-3D-balls.png

For the higher order cyanocuprate Li2CuCN(CH3)2, the cyanide ligand is coordinated to Li and π-bound to Cu. [7]

Mixed cuprates

More useful generally than the Gilman reagents are the so-called mixed cuprates with the formula [RCuX] and [R2CuX]2−. Such compounds are often prepared by the addition of the organolithium reagent to copper(I) halides and cyanide. These mixed cuprates are more stable and more readily purified. [8] One problem addressed by mixed cuprates is the economical use of the alkyl group. Thus, in some applications, the mixed cuprate has the formula Li
2
[Cu(2-thienyl)(CN)R]
is prepared by combining thienyllithium and cuprous cyanide followed by the organic group to be transferred. In this higher order mixed cuprate, both the cyanide and thienyl groups do not transfer, only the R group does. [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

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Organometallic chemistry is the study of organometallic compounds, chemical compounds containing at least one chemical bond between a carbon atom of an organic molecule and a metal, including alkali, alkaline earth, and transition metals, and sometimes broadened to include metalloids like boron, silicon, and selenium, as well. Aside from bonds to organyl fragments or molecules, bonds to 'inorganic' carbon, like carbon monoxide, cyanide, or carbide, are generally considered to be organometallic as well. Some related compounds such as transition metal hydrides and metal phosphine complexes are often included in discussions of organometallic compounds, though strictly speaking, they are not necessarily organometallic. The related but distinct term "metalorganic compound" refers to metal-containing compounds lacking direct metal-carbon bonds but which contain organic ligands. Metal β-diketonates, alkoxides, dialkylamides, and metal phosphine complexes are representative members of this class. The field of organometallic chemistry combines aspects of traditional inorganic and organic chemistry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grignard reaction</span> Organometallic coupling reaction

The Grignard reaction is an organometallic chemical reaction in which, according to the classical definition, carbon alkyl, allyl, vinyl, or aryl magnesium halides are added to the carbonyl groups of either an aldehyde or ketone under anhydrous conditions. This reaction is important for the formation of carbon-carbon bonds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Organolithium reagent</span> Chemical compounds containing C–Li bonds

In organometallic chemistry, organolithium reagents are chemical compounds that contain carbon–lithium (C–Li) bonds. These reagents are important in organic synthesis, and are frequently used to transfer the organic group or the lithium atom to the substrates in synthetic steps, through nucleophilic addition or simple deprotonation. Organolithium reagents are used in industry as an initiator for anionic polymerization, which leads to the production of various elastomers. They have also been applied in asymmetric synthesis in the pharmaceutical industry. Due to the large difference in electronegativity between the carbon atom and the lithium atom, the C−Li bond is highly ionic. Owing to the polar nature of the C−Li bond, organolithium reagents are good nucleophiles and strong bases. For laboratory organic synthesis, many organolithium reagents are commercially available in solution form. These reagents are highly reactive, and are sometimes pyrophoric.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Copper(I) chloride</span> Chemical compound

Copper(I) chloride, commonly called cuprous chloride, is the lower chloride of copper, with the formula CuCl. The substance is a white solid sparingly soluble in water, but very soluble in concentrated hydrochloric acid. Impure samples appear green due to the presence of copper(II) chloride (CuCl2).

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The Corey–House synthesis (also called the Corey–Posner–Whitesides–House reaction and other permutations) is an organic reaction that involves the reaction of a lithium diorganylcuprate () with an organic halide or pseudohalide () to form a new alkane, as well as an ill-defined organocopper species and lithium (pseudo)halide as byproducts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Copper(I) cyanide</span> Chemical compound

Copper(I) cyanide is an inorganic compound with the formula CuCN. This off-white solid occurs in two polymorphs; impure samples can be green due to the presence of Cu(II) impurities. The compound is useful as a catalyst, in electroplating copper, and as a reagent in the preparation of nitriles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phenyllithium</span> Chemical compound

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grignard reagent</span> Organometallic compounds used in organic synthesis

Grignard reagents or Grignard compounds are chemical compounds with the general formula R−Mg−X, where X is a halogen and R is an organic group, normally an alkyl or aryl. Two typical examples are methylmagnesium chloride Cl−Mg−CH3 and phenylmagnesium bromide (C6H5)−Mg−Br. They are a subclass of the organomagnesium compounds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Methyllithium</span> Chemical compound

Methyllithium is the simplest organolithium reagent, with the empirical formula CH3Li. This s-block organometallic compound adopts an oligomeric structure both in solution and in the solid state. This highly reactive compound, invariably used in solution with an ether as the solvent, is a reagent in organic synthesis as well as organometallic chemistry. Operations involving methyllithium require anhydrous conditions, because the compound is highly reactive toward water. Oxygen and carbon dioxide are also incompatible with MeLi. Methyllithium is usually not prepared, but purchased as a solution in various ethers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Organocopper chemistry</span> Compound with carbon to copper bonds

Organocopper chemistry is the study of the physical properties, reactions, and synthesis of organocopper compounds, which are organometallic compounds containing a carbon to copper chemical bond. They are reagents in organic chemistry.

<i>sec</i>-Butyllithium Chemical compound

sec-Butyllithium is an organometallic compound with the formula CH3CHLiCH2CH3, abbreviated sec-BuLi or s-BuLi. This chiral organolithium reagent is used as a source of sec-butyl carbanion in organic synthesis.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Organobismuth chemistry</span>

Organobismuth chemistry is the chemistry of organometallic compounds containing a carbon to bismuth chemical bond. Applications are few. The main bismuth oxidation states are Bi(III) and Bi(V) as in all higher group 15 elements. The energy of a bond to carbon in this group decreases in the order P > As > Sb > Bi. The first reported use of bismuth in organic chemistry was in oxidation of alcohols by Frederick Challenger in 1934 (using Ph3Bi(OH)2). Knowledge about methylated species of bismuth in environmental and biological media is limited.

Reactions of organocopper reagents involve species containing copper-carbon bonds acting as nucleophiles in the presence of organic electrophiles. Organocopper reagents are now commonly used in organic synthesis as mild, selective nucleophiles for substitution and conjugate addition reactions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vinyllithium</span> Chemical compound

Vinyllithium is an organolithium compound with the formula LiC2H3. A colorless or white solid, it is encountered mainly as a solution in tetrahydrofuran (THF). It is a reagent in synthesis of organic compounds, especially for vinylations.

In organometallic chemistry, metal–halogen exchange is a fundamental reaction that converts an organic halide into an organometallic product. The reaction commonly involves the use of electropositive metals and organochlorides, bromides, and iodides. Particularly well-developed is the use of metal–halogen exchange for the preparation of organolithium compounds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Copper compounds</span> Chemical compounds containing copper

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References

  1. J. F. Normant (1972). "Organocopper(I) Compounds and Organocuprates in Synthesis". Synthesis. 1972 (2): 63–80. doi:10.1055/s-1972-21833.
  2. 1 2 Woodward, Simon (2000-01-01). "Decoding the 'black box' reactivity that is organocuprate conjugate addition chemistry". Chemical Society Reviews. 29 (6): 393–401. doi:10.1039/B002690P. ISSN   1460-4744.
  3. Henry Gilman, Reuben G. Jones, and L. A. Woods (1952). "The Preparation of Methylcopper and some Observations on the Decomposition of Organocopper Compounds". Journal of Organic Chemistry . 17 (12): 1630–1634. doi:10.1021/jo50012a009.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. Modern Organocopper Chemistry, N. Krause Ed. Wiley-VCH, 2002.
  5. N. P. Lorenzen; E. Weiss (1990). "Synthesis and Structure of a Dimeric Lithium Diphenylcuprate:[{Li(OEt)2}(CuPh2)]2". Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 29 (3): 300–302. doi:10.1002/anie.199003001.
  6. H. Hope; M. M. Olmstead; P. P. Power; J. Sandell; X. Xu (1985). "Isolation and x-ray crystal structures of the mononuclear cuprates [CuMe2], [CuPh2], and [Cu(Br)CH(SiMe3)2]". Journal of the American Chemical Society . 107 (14): 4337–4338. doi:10.1021/ja00300a047.
  7. Bruce H. Lipshutz; Brian James (1994). "New 1H and 13C NMR Spectral Data on "Higher Order" Cyanocuprates. If the Cyano Ligand Is Not On Copper, Then Where Is It?". J. Org. Chem.: 7585–7587. doi:10.1021/jo00104a009.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. Steven H. Bertz, Edward H. Fairchild, Karl Dieter, "Copper(I) Cyanide" in Encyclopedia of Reagents for Organic Synthesis 2005, John Wiley & Sons. doi : 10.1002/047084289X.rc224.pub2
  9. Bruce H. Lipshutz, Robert Moretti, Robert Crow "Mixed Higher-order Cyanocuprate-induced Epoxide Openings: 1-Benzyloxy-4-penten-2-ol" Org. Synth. 1990, volume 69, pp. 80. doi : 10.15227/orgsyn.069.0080