Self-assembling of bis-ortho chelated diaminobenzyl- (NC'N) and butyl-lithium units to give 2:2 mixed alkyllithium aggregates (NC'N)Li2Bu2Li2(NC'N) with a ladder structure

Abstract

The lithiation reaction of 1,3-bis(dimethylaminomethyl)-4,6-dimethyl-2-(trimethylsilylmethyl)benzene 2 with BunLi (2 equiv.) affords a unique aggregated species 3 of the parent lithiated compound and BunLi in a 2:2 ratio in which the bridging carbon atoms and the lithium atoms are arranged in an unprecedented ladder-type arrangement with exclusively bridging alkyl groups.