Assessing Alkali-Metal Effects in the Structures and Reactivity of Mixed-Ligand Alkyl/Alkoxide Alkali-Metal Magnesiates

Advancing the understanding of using alkali-metal alkoxides as additives to organomagnesium reagents in Mg−Br exchange reactions, a homologous series of mixed-ligand alkyl/alkoxide alkali-metal magnesiates [MMg(CH₂SiMe₃)₂(dmem)]₂ [dmem=2-{[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl]methylamino} ethoxide; M=Li, 1 ; Na, 2 ; (THF)K, 3 ] has been prepared. Structural and spectroscopic studies have established the constitutions of these heteroleptic/heterometallic species, which are retained in arene solution. Evaluation of their reactivity towards 2-bromoanisole has uncovered a marked alkali-metal effect with potassium magnesiate 3 being the most efficient of the three ate reagents. Studies probing the constitution of the exchange product from this reaction suggest that the putative [KMgAr₂(dmem)]₂ (Ar=o-OMe−C₆H₄) intermediate undergoes redistribution into its single metal components [KAr]_n and [MgAr(dmem)]₂ ( 5 ). This process can be circumvented by using a different potassium alkoxide containing an aliphatic chain such as KOR’ (R’=2-ethylhexyl) which undergoes co-complexation with Mg(CH₂SiMe₃) to give [KMg(CH₂SiMe₃)₂(OR’)]₂ ( 7 ). This ate, in turn, reacts quantitatively with 2-bromoanisole furnishing [KMgAr₂(OR’)]₂ ( 9 ) which is stable in solution as a bimetallic compound. Collectively this work highlights the complexity of these alkali-metal mediated Mg−Br exchange reactions, where each reaction component can have a profound effect not only on the success of the reaction; but also the stability of the final metalated intermediates prior to their electrophilic interception.