Abstract
WE have been successful in preparing the free radical ethyl (in the same way as we obtained the free methyl) by decomposing lead-tetraethyl in a hydrogen stream at reduced pressure by means of heat (compare Paneth and Hofeditz, Ber. Deuts. Chem. Gesells., 62, 1335; 1929. NATURE, 124, 161; 1929). The free ethyl is not less aggressive than the free methyl. It converts the metals zinc, cadmium, antimony, and lead into volatile compounds which (under atmospheric pressure and at room temperature) form limpid liquids. The zinc compound has been studied in some detail: the presence of ethyl could be established by converting the ethyl groups into alcohol and identifying the latter by the iodoform test; the metal revealed itself as zinc free from lead, and the melting and boiling point of the compound coincided with those known for zinc diethyl. As the zinc metal before conversion into this compound had been located at a distance from the place of decomposition of the lead-tetraethyl, it seems to be demonstrated that the radical ethyl can be obtained in the free state and carried by a gas stream over several centimetres before recombination takes place.
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PANETH, F., LAUTSCH, W. Isolation of the Radical Ethyl. Nature 125, 564 (1930). https://doi.org/10.1038/125564a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/125564a0
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