Abstract
It is shown that lithium aggregates promoted the efficient metalation of phenylpyridines and stabilization of phenylpyridyllithium. The BuLi−LiDMAE superbase prevented dimerization or nucleophilic addition encountered with t-BuLi or n-BuLi. The reported selective pyridine ring lithiation of 2-, 3-, and 4-phenylpyridine α to nitrogen opens a straightforward access to their derivatives.

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