2/29/2012 - Synthesis of Diethylmagnesium

     Up to the point in 1866 there had been no way of synthesizing a magnesium organometallic compound without having attached a halide to the complex.  James Alfred Wanklyn (famous for methods of determining water quality) came up with a method of synthesis to exclude any presence of a halide anywhere in the synthesis.  This involved the use of Frankland's development of diethylmercury  and mixing it in dissolved magnesium yielding a mixture of diethylmagnesium and dissolved mercury.

(C₂H₅)₂Hg + Mg → (C₂H₅)₂Mg + Hg