title: Facile synthesis of a genuinely alkane-soluble but isolable lithium hydride transfer reagent.
abstract: 1-Lithio-2-butyl-1,2-dihydropyridines, typically formed as intermediates in the nucleophilic substitution (addition/elimination) of pyridine with (n- or t-)butyl lithium, have been isolated and comprehensively characterized. The linear substituted isomer is polymeric while the branched substituted isomer is a cyclotrimer. The lower oligomerization of the latter complex confers exceptional hexane solubility making it an excellent lithium hydride source in non-polar, aliphatic media. A Me6TREN stabilized monomer of the t-butyl complex represents the first 1,2-dihydropyridyllithium complex to be characterized crystallographically.
authors.affiliation: WestCHEM, Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, University of Strathclyde, 295 Cathedral Street, Glasgow, G1 1XL, UK. stuart.d.robertson@strath.ac.uk r.e.mulvey@strath.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Stuart D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Robertson
authors.forename: Alan R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Kennedy
authors.forename: John J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Liggat
authors.forename: Robert E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Mulvey