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Updated: Jul 17, 2026

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Published on: January 3, 2018
Metalated nitriles: chelation-controlled cyclizations to cis and trans hydrindanes and decalins
Fraser F Fleming1, Viet Anh Vu, Brian C Shook
1Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA 15282-1530, USA. flemingf@duq.edu
Abstract:
Chelation provides a powerful means of stereocontrol in alkylations of metalated nitriles. Doubly deprotonating a series of cyclic beta-hydroxynitriles triggers cyclizations that implicate metalated nitrile intermediates having configurations imposed by chelation with an adjacent, chiral lithium alkoxide. Identifying chelation as a general stereocontrol element explains several previously anomalous alkylations of metalated nitriles and provides a potential solution to the long-standing difficulty of synthesizing trans-hydrindanes. Employing chelation to control the metalated nitrile geometry permits selective cyclizations to cis and trans hydrindanes and decalins and provides key insight into the geometrical requirements of these demanding cyclizations.
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