A New Route to Compounds Bearing Two Contiguous Quaternary Centres

All articles of this category Benzyllithiums exhibit a high propensity to add to unactivated carbon-carbon double bonds. We report here two original uses of this unusual reaction: the addition of benzyllithium derivatives to ethylene as well as an intramolecular version for the straightforward synthesis of cuparene (1,1,2-trimethyl-2- p -tolylcyclopentane), a natural produce: which possesses two contiguous quaternary centres.