Polymer supported ‘magnesium(anthracene)’: effective in forming benzylic Grignard reagents (via electron transfer reactions)

Abstract

A polymer supported ‘magnesium(anthracene)’(4) has been prepared from the reaction in tetrahydrofuran (thf) of [Mg(anthracene)(thf)₃](1) with polystyrene bearing –9-CH₂SiMe₂(C₁₄H₉) groups (3); the green paramagnetic solid, containing dianion and radical anion anthracene sites, yields Grignard reagents (>90%) with benzylic halides in thf via electron transfer reactions, as does the model compound for the dianion sites, viz.[Mg{9-PhCH₂SiMe₂(C₁₄H₉)}(thf)₂](6).