Self-assembling of bis-ortho chelated diaminobenzyl- (NC′N) and butyl-lithium units to give 2: 2 mixed alkyllithium aggregates (NC′N)Li2Bu2Li2(NC′N) with a ladder structure

The lithiation reaction of 1,3-bis(dimethylaminomethyl)-4,6-dimethyl-2-(trimethylsilylmethyl)benzene 2 with BuⁿLi (2 equiv.) affords a unique aggregated species 3 of the parent lithiated compound and BuⁿLi in a 2:2 ratio in which the bridging carbon atoms and the lithium atoms are arranged in an unprecedented ladder-type arrangement with exclusively bridging alkyl groups.