Lithium bis(trimethylsilyl)amide is a lithiated organosilicon compound with the formula . It is commonly abbreviated as LiHMDS or Li(HMDS) (lithium hexamethyldisilazide - a reference to its

conjugate acid A conjugate acid, within the Brønsted–Lowry acid–base theory, is a chemical compound formed when an acid gives a proton () to a base—in other words, it is a base with a hydrogen ion added to it, as it loses a hydrogen ion in the rever ...

HMDS) and is primarily used as a strong non-nucleophilic base and as a

ligand In coordination chemistry, a ligand is an ion or molecule with a functional group that binds to a central metal atom to form a coordination complex. The bonding with the metal generally involves formal donation of one or more of the ligand's el ...

. Like many lithium reagents, it has a tendency to aggregate and will form a cyclic trimer in the absence of coordinating species.

Preparation

LiHMDS is commercially available, but it can also be prepared by the deprotonation of bis(trimethylsilyl)amine with ''n''-butyllithium. This reaction can be performed ''in situ''. : Once formed, the compound can be purified by sublimation or

distillation Distillation, also classical distillation, is the process of separating the component substances of a liquid mixture of two or more chemically discrete substances; the separation process is realized by way of the selective boiling of the mixt ...

Reactions and applications

As a base

LiHMDS is often used in organic chemistry as a strong non-nucleophilic base. Its conjugate acid has a p''K''_a of ~26, making it is less basic than other lithium bases, such as LDA (p''K''_a of conjugate acid ~36). It is relatively more sterically hindered and hence less nucleophilic than other lithium bases. It can be used to form various organolithium compounds, including

acetylide In chemistry, an acetylide is a compound that can be viewed as the result of replacing one or both hydrogen atoms of acetylene (ethyne) by metallic or other cations. Calcium carbide is an important industrial compound, which has long been used ...

s or lithium enolates. LiHMDS EnolateFormation

where Me = . As such, it finds use in a range of coupling reactions, particularly carbon-carbon bond forming reactions such as the Fráter–Seebach alkylation and mixed

Claisen condensation The Claisen condensation is a carbon–carbon bond forming reaction that occurs between two esters or one ester and another carbonyl compound in the presence of a strong base. The reaction produces a β-keto ester or a β- diketone. It is named ...

s. An alternative synthesis of tetrasulfur tetranitride entails the use of as a precursor with pre-formed S–N bonds. is prepared by the reaction of lithium bis(trimethylsilyl)amide and

sulfur dichloride Sulfur dichloride is the chemical compound with the formula . This cherry-red liquid is the simplest sulfur chloride and one of the most common, and it is used as a precursor to organosulfur compounds. It is a highly corrosive and toxic substance ...

(). : The reacts with the combination of and

sulfuryl chloride Sulfuryl chloride is an inorganic compound with the formula SO2Cl2. At room temperature, it is a colorless liquid with a pungent odor. Sulfuryl chloride is not found in nature. Sulfuryl chloride is commonly confused with thionyl chloride, SOC ...

() to form , trimethylsilyl chloride, and

sulfur dioxide Sulfur dioxide (IUPAC-recommended spelling) or sulphur dioxide (traditional Commonwealth English) is the chemical compound with the formula . It is a colorless gas with a pungent smell that is responsible for the odor of burnt matches. It is r ...

: :

As a ligand

Li(HMDS) can react with a wide range of

metal halides Metal halides are compounds between metals and halogens. Some, such as sodium chloride are Ionic compound, ionic, while others are covalently bonded. A few metal halides are discrete molecules, such as uranium hexafluoride, but most adopt polymeric ...

, by a

salt metathesis reaction A salt metathesis reaction (also called a double displacement reaction, double replacement reaction, or double decomposition) is a type of chemical reaction in which two ionic compounds in aqueous solution exchange their component ions to form two ...

, to give

metal bis(trimethylsilyl)amides Metal bis(trimethylsilyl)amides (often abbreviated as metal silylamides) are coordination complexes composed of a cationic metal M with anionic bis(trimethylsilyl)amide ligands (the Valence (chemistry)#monovalent, monovalent anion, or monovalent ...

. : where X = Cl, Br, I and sometimes F Metal bis(trimethylsilyl)amide complexes are lipophilic due to the ligand and hence are soluble in a range of nonpolar organic solvents, this often makes them more reactive than the corresponding metal halides, which can be difficult to solubilise. The steric bulk of the ligands causes their complexes to be discrete and monomeric; further increasing their reactivity. Having a built-in base, these compounds conveniently react with protic ligand precursors to give other metal complexes and hence are important precursors to more complex

coordination compound A coordination complex is a chemical compound consisting of a central atom or ion, which is usually metallic and is called the ''coordination centre'', and a surrounding array of chemical bond, bound molecules or ions, that are in turn known as ' ...

Niche uses

LiHMDS is volatile and has been discussed for use for

atomic layer deposition Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is a thin-film deposition technique based on the sequential use of a gas-phase chemical process; it is a subclass of chemical vapour deposition. The majority of ALD reactions use two chemicals called wiktionary:precu ...

of lithium compounds.

Structure

Like many organolithium reagents, lithium bis(trimethylsilyl)amide can form aggregates in solution. The extent of aggregation depends on the solvent. In coordinating solvents, such as

ether In organic chemistry, ethers are a class of compounds that contain an ether group, a single oxygen atom bonded to two separate carbon atoms, each part of an organyl group (e.g., alkyl or aryl). They have the general formula , where R and R� ...

s and

amine In chemistry, amines (, ) are organic compounds that contain carbon-nitrogen bonds. Amines are formed when one or more hydrogen atoms in ammonia are replaced by alkyl or aryl groups. The nitrogen atom in an amine possesses a lone pair of elec ...

s, the

monomer A monomer ( ; ''mono-'', "one" + '' -mer'', "part") is a molecule that can react together with other monomer molecules to form a larger polymer chain or two- or three-dimensional network in a process called polymerization. Classification Chemis ...

and dimer are prevalent. In the monomeric and dimeric state, one or two solvent molecules bind to lithium centers. With ammonia as donor base lithium bis(trimethylsilyl)amide forms a trisolvated monomer that is stabilized by intermolecular hydrogen bonds. In noncoordinating solvents, such as

aromatic In organic chemistry, aromaticity is a chemical property describing the way in which a conjugated system, conjugated ring of unsaturated bonds, lone pairs, or empty orbitals exhibits a stabilization stronger than would be expected from conjugati ...

s or

pentane Pentane is an organic compound with the chemical formula, formula C5H12—that is, an alkane with five carbon atoms. The term may refer to any of three structural isomerism, structural isomers, or to a mixture of them: in the IUPAC nomenclature, h ...

, the complex

oligomers In chemistry and biochemistry, an oligomer () is a molecule that consists of a few repeating units which could be derived, actually or conceptually, from smaller molecules, monomers.Quote: ''Oligomer molecule: A molecule of intermediate relativ ...

predominate, including the trimer. In the solid state structure is trimeric.

References

{{Lithium compounds Bis(trimethylsilyl)amides Lithium compounds Non-nucleophilic bases Organolithium compounds Reagents for organic chemistry