ABSTRACT
The most simple method for the preparation of Grignard reagents from olefins or acetylenes is the formal addition of H-MgX species to such unsaturated carbon-carbon bonds. In fact, the most fundamental inorganic magnesium salt, MgH2' has been reported to add ethylene under drastic reaction conditions [ 1 8] . However, as the double bond is usually resistant to such addition reactions, the method of this reaction is not general. However, in 1 978 Ashby et al. [ 1 9J reported that hydrometallation of 1 -octene with MgH2 was greatly promoted by the addition of a catalytic amount of CP2 TiClz , as evidenced by the fact that quenching the resultant organomagnesium reagent with deuterium oxide or Iz gave deuterated octane or l -iodooctane according to Eq. ( 1 ). Titanium trichloride and ZrCl4 were reported not to be effective catalysts for this reaction.
