7/10/2012 - Beginnings of Carbonyl Chemistry

In 1928 a chemist by the name of Walter Heiber, also known as the father of carbonyl chemistry, started a systematic study of many metal carbonyls.  This allowed him to discover many of the hidden catalytic properties of these utilizable compounds.  Two of his most famous reactions were in the realm of Iron chemistry with the two following reactions:

Fe(CO)₅ + H₂NCH₂CH₂NH₂ →  (H₂NCH₂CH₂NH₂)Fe(CO)₃ + 2CO
Fe(CO)₅ + X₂ → Fe(CO)₄X₂ + CO

7/8/2012 - Synthesis of Polyphenylchromium Compounds

The past couple of days I have been recovering from my dentist reaching into my mouth and stealing my precious wisdom teeth, and dealing with my new found tolerance to most pain killers making it much more difficult than it should be.  But I have finally got my hands back on my organometallics text book so that I can continue in my history of organometallic chemistry.  I last left off in 1917 with the synthesis of Lithium alkyls, which then brings our journey to 1919 with a German chemist named Franz Hein.  This man's claim to fame came to him with the synthesis of polyphenylchromium compounds, being the first sandwich compounds to be made.  This synthesis was performed by the mixture of CrCl₃ (Chromium (III) Chloride) with PhMgBr (Phenylmagnesium bromide) to create a series of these phenylchromium salts that were later found to be made of biphenyl, not phenyl, and oriented in a way making them look like a sandwich.

3/17/2012 - Barbier and the Grignard Reactions

    And once again I apologize for my prolonged absence from the blog as with my injury it induces pain that lasts for a good period of time, and then it lets off for a couple days, only to drive right back into the pain.  Some of these times, I really can't find it in me to do a blog post even though I have so much free time condemned to me.
    As the organometallic history progressed, in 1899, a man by the name of P. Barbier investigated reactions involving an alkyl halide being used as an addition reaction onto strongly electrophilic points.  These reactions were usually involving using reactants such as: an alkyl halide, Zinc, and followed by an aqueous work up.  He began studies focused on finding other metals that could have similar use in these kinds of reactions.  He concluded that adding Magnesium instead of Zinc consequented in a more efficient addition.  His student Grignard followed up by effectively describing the reaction in more detail resulting in the reaction being named after him and also with winning the Nobel Prize.

 will turn into

3/13/2012 - Synthesis of Nickel tetracarbonyl

    About a decade after Mendeleev made his predictions of Eka-Si(C₂H₅)₄, in 1890, a scientist by the name of Ludwig Mond became the first to synthesize Nickel tetracarbonyl, Ni(CO)₄.  This was performed by passing carbon monoxide over Nickel metal to make a light yellow liquid.  This technology was then harnessed to refine nickel when Mond founded the company Imperial Chemical Industries.

Nickel Tetracarbonyl

3/12/2012 - Synthesis and Predicted Properties of Tetraethylgermanium

     Sorry for my week long absence, I was quite busy with my girlfriend visiting me during her spring break, and combined with my injury, I didn't feel up to writing in my blogs.  I did, however, start playing around with a Wordpress blog that I just created.  I am loving their integration with LaTeX in the blog capabilities, and right now I am wishing that I had gone with Wordpress instead of Blogger.  The blog I started is just a blog where I intend to record down what I have been learning in my studies in order to help me in my memory of the subjects.
     As for the continuation of the organometallic history, in 1971 Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev set off to organize the periodic table in according to their physical properties (both atomic weight and valence).  In this certain test where he knew the properties for Si(C₂H₅)₄ and Sn(C₂H₅)₄, and knew that there was an element below Silicon and above Tin, he could predict the properties of the organometallic of Ekasilicon Eka-Si(C₂H₅)₄ (later named Ge(C₂H₅)₄). The properties predicted were the density and the boiling point, and the predictions were only 0.03 points below the actual density and 3.5 degrees C below the actual boiling point.

Tetraethylgermanium

2/27/2012- Synthesis of Alkylaluminum Iodides

     Next in the realm of organometallic chemistry, taking place in 1859, was the creation of alkylaluminum iodides.  The scientists involved in the invention of this technology were Wilhelm Hallwachs (discovery of the photoelectric effect), and  A. Schafarik, when they took a mixture of dissolved aluminum and added a solution of alkyliodides (any primary R group).  This reaction produced a mixture of di-addition alkylaluminum iodide and mono-addition alkylaluminum iodide.

2Al + 3RI → R₂AlI + RAlI₂

Dimethylaluminum iodide

Methylaluminum iodide

2/26/2011 - Synthesis of Tetraethyllead

   Again, I apologize for the delay in posting due to my ailments, but I shall remain posting in the theme of organometallic history.  Just as a disclaimer, most of the information for these posts I have been gathering from Elshenbroich and Salzer's Organometallics 2^nd Eddition.  Following this chronology brings us to two other chemists studying in 1852, Carl Jacob Löwig (discoverer of the element bromine) and Eduard Schweizer.  While studying lead organometallics in Zürich, they became the first to prepare tetraethyllead by using ethyliodide and an allow of Sodium and Lead (much like the Frankland synthesis).

4NaPb + 4(C₂H₅) → (C₂H₅)₄Pb + 4Na + 3Pb

   Following this synthesis they continued to produce (C₂H₅)₃Sb and (C₂H₅)₃Bi