Chiral Alkyllithium Bases

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Carsten Strohmann
• Subject Area: Inorganic Molecular Chemistry - Synthesis and Characterisation
• Term: from 2004 to 2017
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 5447354

Chiral alkyllithium bases derived from commercially available alkyllithium reagents and chiral additives (auxiliaries), mostly in the form of diamines, are important reagents for transferring stereochemical information via deprotonation reactions. In this area of research, the discovery of catalytic variants still remains a major challenge. Within the previous duration of the project we were able to structurally characterize some important representatives of such kinds of reagents and elucidated systematic structure-reactivity relationships. It follows from these studies that this knowledge is also crucial for a better mechanistic understanding of these reactions. In the course of the project our achievements in the field of alkyllithium bases were honored by lots of national and international awards and published in prestigious journals. The research objective will focus on investigating novel deprotonation reagents and activation concepts of high potential, which are only little developed so far. In this context, major attention will be turned towards the synthesis of chiral building blocks for a use as chiral catalysts. The combination of methods for investigating solid structures and novel NMR methods for structural elucidation in solution as well as stereochemical studies, supported by quantum chemical calculations, will provide detailed insights into the ongoing processes.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants