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Organolithium compounds, strong bases and nucleophiles, gained outstanding importance as key intermediates and powerful reagents in organic synthesis, such as the formation of chiral 2-substituted piperidines. Therefore, since the discovery by Schlenk and Holtz, lithiation chemistry has grown into a well established technique also receiving attention in modern industrial synthesis. The butyllithium isomers n-butyllithium, chiral sec-butyllithium, and t-butyllithium are widely used in organic synthesis respectively as a polymerization initiator, a source of sec-butyl carbanions, and as a strong base in Grignard reactions. Highly stereochemically enriched organolithium compounds are versatile and sought-after synthetic intermediates in stereoselective syntheses.
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