Published on Web 06/06/2006
Perturbation of Conjugation in Internally Solvated Allylic
Lithium Compounds: Variation of Ligand Structure. NMR and
X-ray Crystallography
Gideon Fraenkel,* Judith Gallucci, and Hua Liu
Contribution from the Department of Chemistry, The Ohio State UniVersity, Columbus, Ohio 43210
Received January 13, 2006; E-mail: fraenkel@mps.ohio-state.edu
Abstract: Several allyic lithium compounds were prepared with different potential ligands tethered at C2.
These are with CH3OCH2CH2NCH3CH2-, 5 and 1-TMS 6, with (CH3)2NCH2CH2NCH3CH2-, 1-TMS 7, and
with ((CH3)2NCH2CH2)2NCH2-, 8 and 1-TMS 9. In all these compounds Li is fully coordinated to the pendant
ligand and is sited off the axis perpendicular to the allyl plane at one of the allyl termini as indicated by a
combination of X-ray crystallography and NMR spectra. Compounds 5 and 8 are Li-bridged dimers as
shown by X-ray crystallography and also dimeric in benzene solution as determined from freezing point
determinations. Compounds 6, 7, and 9 are monomeric in THF-d8 or diethyl ether-d10 solution and exhibit
one bond 13C1,6Li scalar coupling at low temperature. Taken together the crystallographic and NMR data
indicate that all of these compounds incorporate partially delocalized allylic moieties. Compounds 5 and 8
undergo fast 1,3-Li-sigmatropic shifts that are proposed to take place within low concentrations of monomers
in fast equilibrium with prevalent dimers. Averaging with increasing temperature of the one-bond 13C,6Li
coupling constant in 6, 7, and 13 provided the dynamics of bimolecular C-Li exchange with ∆Hq values of
6.7, 12, and 13 kcal‚mol-1, respectively. Averaging of the diastereotopic N(CH3)2 13C resonances of 7 is
indicative of fast transfer of coordinated ligand between faces of the allyl plane ∆Hq ) 5.3 kcal‚mol-1
combined with slower inversion at nitrogen. Compound 8 exhibits similar effects. It is concluded that variation
of the ligand structure changes dynamic behavior of the compounds but has little influence of their degrees
of delocalization.
Extensive chemical,1 X-ray crystallographic,2 NMR,3 and
calculational studies4 establish the delocalized character of
solvated allylithium and how coordinated lithium is sited normal
to the center of the allyl plane, 1.
line shape analysis.5 In related studies on ion-pairing we reported
how 13C NMR at 150 K revealed the unsymmetrical character
of 2. With increasing temperature above 150 K, NMR line shape
analysis of signal averaging effects in the 13C NMR of 2
distinguished the dynamics of two different first-order reorga-
nization processes. These are rotation of coordinated ligand on
one side of the allyl plane and transfer of coordinated ligand
between faces of the allyl plane.6
Barriers to rotation have been determined around the C1-C2
bond of different allylic lithium compounds by use of NMR
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10.1021/ja060272n CCC: $33.50 © 2006 American Chemical Society
J. AM. CHEM. SOC. 2006, 128, 8211-8216
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