Synthesis and characterization of novel chelated dimethylamino lithium arylamide dimers: molecular structure of [1-LiNPhCHPhCH2-2-NMe2C6H4](2)

The reaction of 1-NHPhCHPh-2-NMe2C6H4 (1) and 1-NHPhCHPhCH2-2-NMe2C6H4 (2) with n-BuLi in diethyl ether gave the solvent-free chelated dimethylamino lithium amides [1-LiNPhCHPh-2-NMe2C6H4](2) (3) and [1-LiNPhCHPhCH2-2-NMe2C6H4](2) (4). The lithium amides 3 and 4 were characterized by H-1, Li-7, and C-13 NMR spectroscopy. A crystal structure determination was carried out on 4, which is the first example of a structurally characterized solvent-free dimeric chelated dimethylamino lithium arylamide with three-coordinate lithium centers that contains a seven-membered chelate ring. Copyright (C) 2003 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.