Why Is Diethyl Ether Used As A Solvent In The Grignard Reaction

At first an alkyl or aryl halide needs to react with magnesium to undergo a transformation of electrophilic alkyl halide into nucleophilic carbanion molecules.

Why is diethyl ether used as a solvent in the grignard reaction. A grignard reaction involves the reaction of an alkyl or aryl halide with magnesium metal to form an alkylmagnesium halide. As grignard reagents are prepared primarily in diethyl ether. Primary secondary or tertiary alkyl chlorides bromides and iodides as well as aryl bromides. Ether is used as a solvent because it is aprotic and can solvate the magnesium ion.

Tetrahydrofuran is another popular choice of solvent for the synthesis of grignard reagents. Q diethyl ether is an especially good solvent for the formation of grignard reagents because ethers are non acidic aprotic. A grignard reagent is an extremely powerful nucleophile and can react with electrophiles like carbonyl compounds. Water or alcohols would protonate and thus destroy the grignard reagent because the grignard carbon is highly nucleophilic.

This would form a hydrocarbon. But grignard reagents are stable in ethers. Therefore the cyclic ether in this reaction generally comes at higher boiling points and is more rigorous than others.