Cerium(III) chloride remarkably increases the rates of formation and yields of ketones in the reaction of lithium carboxylates with organolithiums

Abstract

The presence of CeCl 3 greatly increases the yield of ketones in the reaction of organolithiums with lithium carboxylates. The Ce III suppresses the enolization of the lithium carboxylate, previously unrecognized as a competing reaction except in special cases, and the formation of tertiary alcohols. One of the reasons for the latter effect is a surprising increase in the rate of addition of the organometallic to the lithium carboxylate in the presence of Ce III.