A Computational Study of Lithium Carbamate Synthetic Intermediate Structures and Aggregation

Abstract

Computational quantum chemistry was used to investigate the structures of lithium carbamates in the gas phase and in ethereal solvents. These compounds act as nucleophiles with either inversion or retention of configuration at the chiral center and knowledge of the aggregation state is the first step in understanding the reactivity. The sterically hindered lithium phenyl carbamate is calculated to exist largely as the ether or THF solvated monomer in solution. Higher aggregates are possible in the gas phase, which is often taken as an approximation for solutions in non-polar solvents.