Intramolecular Carbolithiation of Aromatic N-Allyl-N-(2-Lithioallyl)Amines:Reinvestigation of the Mechanism and Synthesis of Functionalized Pyrrolidines

The intramolecular carbolithiation reactions of aromatic N-allyl-N-(2-lithioallyl)amines have been studied in detail. Although we have initially proposed a 6-endo ring closure for these substrates, we have found that the course of these processes starts with a 5-exo cyclization reaction. Interestingly, 3- functionalized-4-methylenepyrrolidines have been synthesized from simple starting materials.