The Solvent-free Lithium Alanate {Li[t-Bu₂AlH₂]}_n: A New Product Obtained from a Long-Known Reaction

We report the isolation and characterization of an unknown reaction product from the reaction of AlBr3 with three equivalents of t-BuLi. The polymeric and solvent-free lithium alanate {Li[t-Bu2AlH2]}(n) was characterized by X-ray structure analysis, NMR and IR spectroscopy. The title compound was found to be a suitable starting material for the synthesis of [t-Bu2AlH](3) by reacting it with readily available [t-Bu2AlBr](2).