Whereas, generally speaking, zinc reacts suitably only with the first members of the alkyl iodides, with magnesium it is possible to use bromides, iodides, and in many cases, chlorides.
Organic compounds exist in which a hydrogen atom, joined to the carbon, acquires acid properties as a result of the proximity of certain functional groupings.
There are, in fact, very few organic zinc compounds; only the first members of the series, which correspond to the simplest organic radicals, can be prepared without too much difficulty, but they have the disadvantage of being spontaneously inflammable in air and are consequently very dangerous to handle.
The reactions of organic magnesium compounds are of two kinds - reactions of substitution and reactions of addition.
