The successive reaction of chlorobenzyl alcohols with n-butyllithium and lithium powder in the presence of a substoichiometric amount of 4, 4′-di-tert-butylbiphenyl (DTBB) at− 78° C yields the expected (lithiooxymethyl) phenyllithium derivative, which is trapped by reaction with different ketones. The subsequent arene-catalysed lithiation at 25° C permits the one- pot chemoselective lithiation of the primary benzyl alcoholate in the presence of a tertiary ...
[Rono, Lydia J.; Yayla, Hatice G.; Wang, David Y.; Armstrong, Michael F.; Knowles, Robert R. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2013 , vol. 135, # 47 p. 17735 - 17738]