The Schlenk equilibrium is a chemical equilibrium named after its discoverer Wilhelm Schlenk taking place in solutions of Grignard reagents. Chemical equilibrium is the state in which a chemical reaction proceeds at the same rate as its reverse reaction; the rates of the forward and reverse reactions are equal, and the concentration of the reactants and products stop changing. ... Wilhelm Johann Schlenk (March 22, 1879 – April 29, 1943) was a German chemist. ... A Grignard Reagent is an alkyl- or aryl- magnesium halide. ...

The process described is an equilibrium between two equivalents of an alkyl or aryl magnesium halide on the left of the equation and on the right side one equivalent of the dialkyl or diaryl magnesium compound and magnesium halide salt. An alkyl is a univalent radical containing only carbon and hydrogen atoms arranged in a chain. ... In the context of organic molecules, aryl refers to any member of the set of functional groups or substituents that are derived from a simple aromatic ring. ... A magnified crystal of a salt (halite/sodium chloride) In chemistry, a salt is any ionic compound composed of positively charged cations and negatively charged anions so that the product is neutral and without a net charge. ...

The position of the equilibrium is influenced by solvent and temperature, the nature of the various substituents and the presence of impurities. In solvents containing an ether linkage such as diethyl ether or tetrahydrofuran the equilibrium is in favor of the magnesium halide because magnesium coordinates to the oxygen atom of the ether forming a lewis acid to base complex. With dioxane on the other hand this coordination is favorable for the magnesium halide salt and the equilibrium is shifted to the right. Ether is the general name for a class of chemical compounds which contain an ether group — an oxygen atom connected to two (substituted) alkyl groups. ... Diethyl ether, also known as ether and ethoxyethane, is a clear, colorless, and highly flammable liquid with a low boiling point and a characteristic smell. ... Tetrahydrofuran, also known as THF, hydrofuran, oxolane, oxacyclopentane, or furanidine, is a heterocyclic organic compound. ... In chemistry, a Lewis acid can accept a pair of electrons and form a coordinate covalent bond, after the American chemist Gilbert Lewis. ... 1,4-Dioxane, often just called dioxane, is a clear, colorless organic compound which is a liquid at room temperature and pressure. ...

Complexity is added to this equilibrium because the organomagnesium halide species in solution are capable of forming dimers and trimers etc. Sucrose, or common table sugar, is composed of glucose and fructose. ... In chemistry a trimer is a reaction product of three identical molecules. ...

See also

• chemical equilibrium

Chemical equilibrium is the state in which a chemical reaction proceeds at the same rate as its reverse reaction; the rates of the forward and reverse reactions are equal, and the concentration of the reactants and products stop changing. ...

References

1. ↑  W. Schlenk, W. Schlenk, Chem. Ber. 62, 920 1929 Note: the authors are father and son
2. ↑  Grignard Reagents: New Developments H. G. Richey (Editor) ISBN 0-471-99908-3