ABSTRACT
Eq. (3), there is a spontaneous elimination of the magnesium-containing fragment. Together (either 1 + 2 or 1 + 3) these steps constitute what today is meant by a Grignard reaction.
The first example of what is now known as a Grignard reaction was observed, in 1 899, by Barbier [ 1 ] . He reported that a mixture of methyl iodide, a methyl ketone, and magnesium metal in diethyl ether produced a tertiary alcohol. He assigned to his student, Victor Grignard, the task of unraveling the mechanism of this unusual result . The detailed studies by Grignard [2J, first published in 1 900 and presented in his doctoral thesis in 1 901 , established that the reaction observed by Barbier could be separated into three distinct steps:
CH31 + Hg (4)
(5)
~ (6) The great value of his observation was the recognition that this sequence was quite general and could be used to prepare an extraordinary variety of new compounds. Grignard devoted much of the rest of his career to broadening the scope and understanding of this reaction and was recognized for his achievements with the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1 9 1 2 at the age of 39. In the years that followed, the Grignard reaction was increasingly employed as a convenient and versatile tool for laboratory synthesis. However, the relatively high cost of magnesium and the more reactive organic bromides and iodides, as well as the hazards associated with diethyl ether as a solvent, proved to be limitations to commercialization on an industrial scale.
