Wurtz Reaction

Name:
Wurtz Reaction
Detailed information:
A method of synthesizing hydrocarbons discovered by Wurtz in 1855. It consists in treatment of an alkyl halide with metallic sodium, which has a strong affinity for bound halogen and acts on methyl iodide in such a way as to strip iodine from the molecule and produce sodium iodide. The reaction involves two molecules of methyl iodide and two atoms of sodium.The reaction probably proceeds through the formation of methylsodium, which interacts with methyl iodide:

The Wurtz reaction can be applied generally to synthesis of hydrocarbons by the joining together of hydrocarbon residues of two molecules of an alkyl halide (usually the bromide or iodide). With halides of high molecular weight the yields are often good and the reaction has been serviceable in the synthesis of higher hydrocarbons starting with alcohols found in nature.