William F. Bailey

Professor Emeritus

Department of Chemistry

Education

• Postdoctoral Fellow, Yale University, 1974
• Postdoctoral Fellow, University of North Carolina, 1973
• Ph.D. University of Notre Dame
• B.S. St. Peter’s College

Research Interests

Development of new synthetic methodology using main-group organometallic chemistry. Investigation of the synthetic utility of unsaturated organolithiums and related Group 1 organo¬metallics. These reactive intermediates, prepared in virtually quantitative yield by low-temperature lithium-iodine exchange between t-butyllithium and an organoiodide, undergo regiospecific and highly stereoselective cyclization upon warming. The high degree of stereocontrol in these anionic cyclizations has led to development of one step, stereoselective syntheses of simple natural products and tandem-cyclization strategies for the preparation of bi- and polycyclic structures.