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Why is grignard reagent used?

Answer 1

Why? Because it is one of the few ways to make a #C-C# bond.

By simply adding the Grignard reagent to dry ice, one can create a carboxylate salt that is one carbon longer than the Grignard reagent:

#R-MgX+ CO_2(s) rarr RCO_2^(-)(MgX)^+#

(I almost wrote #R-MgX(aq)# in that equation; why would that have been embarassing?)

Epoxides, which are cyclic ethers with a three-membered ring, can also react with Grignard reagents to produce an alcohol whose carbon chain is two carbons longer than the Grignard reagent's.

#R-MgX + C_2H_4O rarr RCH_2CH_2O^(-)(MgX)^+#

Grignards' action on ketones and aldehydes can elaborate secondary and tertiary alcohols.

Grignard reagents are (usually) very easy to make from an organic halide given simple precautions and dry solvents, and they are very reactive and reliable beasts to make #C-C# junctions.

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Answer 2

Zoe Alexander

Grignard reagents are used as versatile nucleophiles in organic synthesis due to their ability to form carbon-carbon bonds and react with various electrophiles.

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Answer from HIX Tutor

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.