Diethylmercury is a flammable, colorless liquid, and one of the strongest known

neurotoxin Neurotoxins are toxins that are destructive to nervous tissue, nerve tissue (causing neurotoxicity). Neurotoxins are an extensive class of exogenous chemical neurological insult (medical), insultsSpencer 2000 that can adversely affect function ...

s. This organomercury compound is described as having a slightly sweet smell, though inhaling enough fumes to notice this would be hazardous. This chemical can cross the

blood–brain barrier The blood–brain barrier (BBB) is a highly selective semipermeable membrane, semipermeable border of endothelium, endothelial cells that regulates the transfer of solutes and chemicals between the circulatory system and the central nervous system ...

, causing permanent brain damage. It is, however, considerably less toxic than dimethylmercury. The resulting (CH₃CH₂)₂Hg is a

dense Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the ratio of a substance's mass to its volume. The symbol most often used for density is ''ρ'' (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter ''D'' (or ''d'') can also be use ...

liquid (2.466 g/cm³) that

boils A boil, also called a furuncle, is a deep folliculitis, which is an infection of the hair follicle. It is most commonly caused by infection by the bacterium ''Staphylococcus aureus'', resulting in a painful swollen area on the skin caused by an ...

at 57 °C at 16

torr The torr (symbol: Torr) is a Pressure#Units, unit of pressure based on an absolute scale, defined as exactly of a standard atmosphere (unit), atmosphere (101325 Pa). Thus one torr is exactly (≈ ). Historically, one torr was intended to be ...

. This extremely toxic compound is slightly soluble in ethanol and soluble in ether.

Synthesis

Diethylmercury can be obtained from the reaction between ethylmagnesium bromide and

mercury(II) chloride Mercury(II) chloride (mercury bichloride, mercury dichloride, mercuric chloride), historically also sulema or corrosive sublimate, is the inorganic chemical compound of mercury and chlorine with the formula HgCl2, used as a laboratory reagent. ...

. :2 C₂H₅MgBr + HgCl₂ → Hg(C₂H₅)₂ + MgBr₂ + MgCl₂ Other methods are also known.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Diethyl Mercury Organomercury compounds Sweet-smelling chemicals Ethyl compounds Neurotoxins

Synthesis

See also

References