Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol.130, No.14, 4859-4868, 2008
Lithium enolates of simple ketones: Structure determination using the method of continuous variation
The method of continuous variation in conjunction with Li-6 NMR spectroscopy was used to characterize lithium enolates derived from 1-indanone, cyclohexanone, and cyclopentanone in solution. The strategy relies on forming ensembles of homo- and heteroaggregated enolates. The enolates form exclusively chelated dimers in N,N,N',N'-tetramethylethylenediamine and cubic tetramers in tetrahydrofuran and 1,2-dimethoxyethane.