Lithium-tellurium exchange reaction. A convenient method for generation of heteroatom-substituted methyllithiums

Article abstract of DOI:10.1021/om00118a086

A variety of heteroatom-substituted methyllithiums (GCH₂Li; G = MeOCH₂CH₂O-, PhCH₂O-, Me₂N-, Me₃Si-, Me₃Ge-, ⁿBu₃Sn-, ⁿBuTe-) were generated by the lithium-tellurium exchange reaction of corresponding tellurides with butyllithium and were trapped with electrophiles. The potent utility of bis(butyltelluro)methane as a methylene dianion synthon was demonstrated, where both of the butyltelluro groups were displaced stepwise by different electrophiles with use of this metalation/trapping sequence repeated twice.