Reductive Lithiation and Multilithiated Compounds in Synthesis

The reductive metalation procedure is a powerful approach to the generation of non-functionalized and functionalized organolithium reagents. As an alternative and a complement to the widely employed deprotonation procedure, reductive lithiation strongly extends the number of precursors which can be transformed into the desired organometals and, in several instances, shows distinct advantages in terms of chemo- regio- and stereo-selectivities as well as mildness of reaction conditions. In this chapter it is reported a selection of the relevant literature on this topic published during the period 2000 – 2012, focusing on significant applications of this methodology in organic synthesis