t-Butyllithium

Other Names:

tert-Butyllithium

t-BuLi

tert-BuLi

Lithium-2-methyl-2-propanide

General Information:

Structure:

CAS Number: 594-19-4

Molecular Weight: 64.06 g/mol

t-Butyllithium (t-BuLi) is a strong base that can deprotonate weak carbon acids, especially when weaker organolithium bases such as n-BuLi and s-BuLi don't work well. t-BuLi is a pyrophoric reagent that easily catches fire when exposed to the moisture in air. A fatal accident involving t-BuLi occurred at UCLA, in 2008.

Safety:

t-BuLi is a pyrophoric reagent that may ignite spontaneously when exposed to air. Handling of t-BuLi should be done behind a shield. If a fire occurs, an appropriate Class D fire extinguisher should be used. t-BuLi fires can cause serious injury or death, as seen in the fatal accident involving t-BuLi that occurred at UCLA, in 2008.

References:

1) Wikipedia: tert-Butyllithium (link)

2) www.sigmaaldrich.com: tert-Butyllithium (link)

3) Reich, H. J.; Rigby, J. H.; Handbook of Reagents for Organic Synthesis, Acidic and Basic Reagents