A novel monomeric alkyl-lithium compound. Crystal structure of [Li{C(SiMe2Ph)3}(tetrahydrofuran)]

Abstract

A crystal structure determination on the tetrahydrofuran (thf) adduct of tris (phenyldimethylsilyl) methyl-lithium has shown it to be a monomeric species [Li{C(SiMe₂Ph)₃}(thf)] in which the lithium is covalently bonded to oxygen and to the central carbon of the (Me₂PhSi)₃C group and interacts strongly with the ipso carbon atom of one of the phenyl groups without significantly distorting the hybridization at that atom.