The classic initiator is a small crystal of iodine
I know about the Iodine. I consider this to be semi
exotic. Anything else in mind ?karlos³ - 4-2-2022 at 19:21
Just pre-dry your solvents properly with molsieves in advance, and if you can't get iodine or another likewise small (di)haloalkane, it will probably
do not matter much.
They tend to work like a charm this way, but I always use a tiniest piece of iodine as well.
I would guess that a tiny quantity of DCM would work similar well to dibromoethane, though.
I've also seen ethyl iodide being used for this.AvBaeyer - 4-2-2022 at 19:33
Do you have access to an ultrasonic cleaner? Putting some warm water in the cleaner then sonicating the reaction flask with a small amount halide
solution and magnesium will almost always start the reaction. I say this assuming that you are running your reaction on a modest scale. I have been
told (but not tried) that just sonicating some magnesium alone will activate it nicely. I cannot vouch for this but it may be worth a try.
By the way, iodine is not so exotic. If you have potassium iodide and an oxidizing agent like oxone pool sanitizer, you can make sufficient iodine to
start a Grignard reaction. I cannot understand how you plan to run a Grignard reaction without the basic reagents so commonly used.
AvBtimescale - 4-2-2022 at 20:33
Not sure if you'd consider chloroform exotic, but that might work as well.
You could always just drip in some of your alkyl halide and cross your fingers! Grinding the Mg in a mortar and pestle before use might also help
(temporarily removes oxides etc)Texium - 4-2-2022 at 20:39
The classic initiator is a small crystal of iodine
I know about the Iodine. I consider this to be semi
exotic. Anything else in mind ?
Well that’s sadTsjerk - 5-2-2022 at 05:14
Ethyl bromide from ethanol and a bromide or iodine from KI.
But Grignards, maybe except some really deactivated halides, often start when molar sieves are used to pre-dry.
What you can do to get activated magnesium which starts Grignards without catalyst is treating it with HCl, followed by methanol. I found out about
this trick when I was drying methanol with magnesium.
Magnesium and methanol react spontaneously and exothermic as long as there is no oxide layer on the magnesium or too much water in the methanol.
What you do is stir the magnesium with 0.5% HCl for as long as you think is necessary to get rid of most the oxide, probably one or two minutes. This
you filter over vacuum, and rinse with methanol. Now you put the magnesium in some dry methanol and let it stand until it is warm to the touch.
The magnesium reacts with methanol to form methoxide, assuring there is no residual HCl or water left. This you filter over vacuum again and after
drying over the vacuum for a minute or so you rinse with a little ether to get rid of the last methanol. Drying in vacuum would be even better. This
way there will be even less oxide layer formed
This magnesium will be so reactive it will instantly react with your halide of choice, without any catalyst.Amos - 5-2-2022 at 15:02
Just grind your magnesium in a mortar and pestle for a little while. You can add some sand to act as an abrasive if you want, it's not going to hurt
anything in the reaction other than the most sensitive of magnetic stirring. On paper, nothing is needed to initiate the formation of the grignard at
all, and if your reagents aren't bad quality it should form just fine albeit slowly.Tsjerk - 6-2-2022 at 23:12
[Edited on 7-2-2022 by Tsjerk]Colleen Ortiz - 1-3-2022 at 23:36
Hello, my choice would be Zinc II
The Grignard Reaction is a reaction in which an organomagnesium halide (Grignard reagent) is added to a ketone or aldehyde to produce tertiary or
secondary alcohol. A primary alcohol is formed when formaldehyde reacts with it.
Grignard Reagents are also employed in the crucial reactions listed below: When an excess of a Grignard reagent is added to an ester or lactone, it
generates tertiary alcohol with two identical alkyl groups, and when a Grignard reagent is added to a nitrile, it forms an unsymmetrical ketone
through a metallocene intermediate.
Catalysts are particularly essential in chemistry, especially in organic synthesis, since they may considerably speed up chemical processes and
reactions, allowing products to be synthesized more efficiently and sustainably. Zinc is a very inexpensive and widely accessible metal (zinc is
easily extracted from the minerals in high purity). Zinc's low toxicity, low cost, availability and accessibility make it a likely candidate for use
in chemical catalysis. Zinc (II) bromide (ZnBr2) is a zinc compound that has been widely employed as a catalyst in chemical synthesis. In recent
years, literature has reported on the use of ZnBr2 as a catalyst for the synthesis of organic chemicals and heterocyclic molecules.
