ABSTRACT
Organometallic compounds, i.e., compounds in which a metal atom is bound through carbon to an organic radical R, are fundamentally different from ionic compounds of the metal in question. An organometallic compound differs fundamentally both in chemical and biological properties from an ionic compound of the same metal. Therefore, determining only the total amount of this metal in a sample, e.g., to give only the content of mercury or lead in a material which is suspected to also contain organomercury or organolead compounds, may be very misleading. The Pb-C bond in organolead compounds is rather weak compared with Sn-C and Ge-C bonds in this respect Group IV differs from the preceding groups, where organometallic compounds of the lower members are less stable than. A consequence of the weak Pb-C bonds is that organolead compounds under the influence of light or heat may split off free radicals, resulting either in decomposition or rearrangements.
