Problem. In which of the following media is MeMgBr stable?
a) Water
b) Ammonia
c) Ether
My thoughts. The reaction with the solvent is more or less a simple acid-base reaction:
Me:
- + HA
MeH + A-
with
+MgBr more or less acting as a spectator ion.
pKa for MeH is approximately 60 whereas it is 16 for water and 35 for ammonia, so in these cases it is quite obvious that the Gringard reagent will react with the solvent.
As for the ether, however, I have not found any pKa values in my literature, but as far as I have learned, the electronegative oxygen atom should inductively make the α carbons more acidic than alkanes. But at the same time I know from practice that ether is a common solvent for Grindgard reagents, so somehow I must do something wrong in my reasoning. Can anyone explain to me what?