Michael Addition with an Olefinic Pyridine: Organometallic Nucleophiles and Carbon Electrophiles.

The conjugate addition reactions of trans-1,2-di(2-pyridyl)ethylene have been studied. This substrate reacts with organolithium nucleophiles, and the resulting anionic intermediates may be trapped by proton or various carbonyl-based electrophiles. It is suggested that the dipyridyl structure stabilizes the intermediate carbanion, allowing the Michael adduct to be captured by an added electrophile.