Carbon-based compounds attached to a lithium atom are widely used in chemical reactions to add new carbon–carbon bonds to molecules. However, these organolithium reagents are not normally selective enough to create only one of two possible mirror-image forms, or enantiomers, of the same molecule.
Ben Feringa, Syuzanna Harutyunyan and their colleagues at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands now show off a way to use these organolithium reagents in a highly selective manner. By combining these reagents with copper-based catalysts, the team demonstrated selectivity of 90% or higher for one enantiomer in more than 20 different reactions.
Change history
23 March 2011
This article originally stated that selectivity of 90% was achieved using organolithium reagents. In fact, this was achieved by using organolithium reagents in combination with copper-based catalysts. The text has been changed to reflect this.
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Copper makes for selectivity. Nature 471, 413 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/471413b
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/471413b
