ABSTRACT
Acetylenic compounds, RC ......CH, with a highly acidic hydrogen attached to the triple bond react with Grignard reagents, such as ethylmagnesium bromide, and are converted to acetylenic Grignard reagents of the types RC .....CMgBr. This reaction is slow relative to the alkyl lithium reaction, and the Grignard reaction is hard to drive to completion. In remarkable contrast the analogous reactions involving alkali amide in liquid ammonia or alkyl lithium in tetrahydrofuran (THF) proceed fast, even at - 80°C.
