Tetraethyltin or tetraethyl tin is a
chemical compound
A chemical compound is a chemical substance composed of many identical molecules (or molecular entities) containing atoms from more than one chemical element held together by chemical bonds. A molecule consisting of atoms of only one element ...
with the formula and molecular structure (CH
3CH
2)
4Sn, that is, a
tin
Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn (from la, stannum) and atomic number 50. Tin is a silvery-coloured metal.
Tin is soft enough to be cut with little force and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, t ...
atom attached to four
ethyl groups. It is an important example of an
organotin compound
Organotin compounds or stannanes are chemical compounds based on tin with hydrocarbon substituents. Organotin chemistry is part of the wider field of organometallic chemistry. The first organotin compound was diethyltin diiodide (), discovered by ...
, often abbreviated as TET.
Tetraethyltin is a colourless flammable liquid, soluble in
diethyl ether
Diethyl ether, or simply ether, is an organic compound in the ether class with the formula , sometimes abbreviated as (see Pseudoelement symbols). It is a colourless, highly volatile, sweet-smelling ("ethereal odour"), extremely flammable liq ...
and insoluble in water, that freezes at -112 °C and boils at 181 °C.
[SAFC corp]
''tetraethyltin''
catalog page. Accessed on 2011-01-18. It is used in the electronics industry.
Tetraethyltin can be obtained by reacting ethylmagnesium bromide
Ethylmagnesium bromide is a Grignard reagent with formula C2H5MgBr. It is widely used in the laboratory synthesis of organic compounds.
Reactions
Apart from acting as the synthetic equivalent of an ethyl anion synthon for nucleophilic addition, ...
with tin(IV) chloride
Tin(IV) chloride, also known as tin tetrachloride or stannic chloride, is an inorganic compound with the formula Sn Cl4. It is a colorless hygroscopic liquid, which fumes on contact with air. It is used as a precursor to other tin compounds. It w ...
:[G. J. M. Van Der Kerk and J. G. A. Luijten (1956)]
"Tetraethyltin"
''Organic Syntheses'', volume 36, page 86; Coll. Vol. 4, p.881 (1963)
:SnCl4 + 4 (C2H5)MgBr → (CH3CH2)4Sn + 4 MgBrCl
The same reaction can be used to obtain tetra-''n''-propyltin and tetra-''n''-butyltin.[
Tetraethyltin is converted in the body to the more toxic triethyltin.]
See also
* Tetraethyllead
Tetraethyllead (commonly styled tetraethyl lead), abbreviated TEL, is an organolead compound with the formula Pb( C2H5)4. It is a fuel additive, first being mixed with gasoline beginning in the 1920s as a patented octane rating booster that al ...
* Tetraethylgermanium
Tetraethylgermanium (common name tetraethyl germanium), abbreviated TEG, is an organogermanium compound with the formula ( CH3CH2)4 Ge. Tetraethylgermanium is an important chemical compound used in vapour deposition of germanium which is in a tetra ...
References
Coordination complexes
Organotin compounds
Foul-smelling chemicals
Tin(IV) compounds
{{Organic-compound-stub