Negishi cross-coupling reactions were analyzed in solution by mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy to identify both the effect of LiBr as an additive as well as the purpose of 3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone (DMI) as a co-solvent. The results suggest that the main role of DMI is to facilitate a higher order bromozincate formation during the addition of LiBr.

Reaction rates for the base-catalyzed silylation of primary, secondary, and tertiary alcohols depend strongly on the choice of solvent and catalyst. The reactions are significantly faster in Lewis basic solvents such as dimethylformamide (DMF) compared with those in chloroform or dichloromethane (DCM). In DMF as the solvent, the reaction half-lives for the conversion of structurally similar primary, secondary, and tertiary alcohols vary in the ratio 404345:20232:1. The effects of added Lewis base catalysts such as 4-N,N-dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP) or 4-pyrrolidinopyridine (PPY) are much larger in apolar solvents than in DMF. The presence of an auxiliary base such as triethylamine is required in order to drive the reaction to full conversion.

Aiming at the identification of an efficient computational protocol for the accurate NMR assessment of organosilanes in low-polarity organic solvents, (29)Si NMR chemical shifts of a selected set of such species relevant in organic synthesis have been calculated relative to tetramethylsilane (TMS, 1) using selected density functional and perturbation theory methods. Satisfactory results are obtained when using triple zeta quality basis sets such as IGLO-III. Solvent effects impact the calculated results through both, changes in substrate geometry as well as changes in the actual shieldings. Spin-orbit (SO) corrections are required for systems carrying more than one chlorine atom directly bonded to silicon. Best overall results are obtained using gas phase geometries optimized at MPW1K/6-31+G(d) level in combination with shielding calculations performed at MPW1K/IGLO-III level in the presence of the PCM continuum solvation model.

Relative rates for the silylation of C4-substituted 1-(naphthalen-1-yl)ethanol substrates with tert-butyldimethylsilyl chloride (TBSCl) in CDCl catalyzed by 9-azajulolidine (TCAP) have been measured. Hammett plot analysis of the resulting selectivity data yields two intersecting linear correlations. A small positive slope of ρ=+0.09 is observed for donor-substituted alcohols, while silylation rates for acceptor-substituted alcohols correlate best with a slightly larger negative slope (ρ=-0.48). The reaction of methanol with TBSCl catalyzed by 4-(N,N-dimethylamino)pyridine (DMAP) has been studied at several different theoretical levels in chloroform solution. Silyl-group transfer between silylated DMAP and methanol occur over an exceedingly flat surface with barely defined minima and transition states. Reaction pathway calculations for the Lewis base and general base catalyzed mechanisms for reaction of TBSCl with C4-substituted 1-(naphthalen-1-yl)ethanol compounds predict a close competition of both pathways.