Brief History
The first organocopper compound, the explosive copper(I) acetylide Cu2C2 (Cu-C≡C-Cu), was synthesized by Rudolf Christian Böttger in 1859 by passing acetylene gas through copper(I) chloride solution:
- C2H2 + 2 CuCl → Cu2C2 + 2 HCl
Henry Gilman prepared methylcopper in 1936. In 1941, Kharash discovered that reaction of a Grignard reagent with cyclohexenone in presence of Cu(I) resulted in 1,4-addition instead of 1,2-addition. In 1952 Gilman investigated for the first time dialkylcuprates. In the 1960s, complexes of alkenes and CO with copper(I) were established.
Read more about this topic: Organocopper Compound
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