Question

Question: How might you replace a halogen substituent by a deuterium atom if you wanted to prepare a deuterated compound?

Short answer

Answer

The reaction for the formation of above deuterated compound is as follows:

Step-by-step solution

Grignard reagent

A Grignard reagent is formally the magnesium salt,${\mathrm{R}}_3{\mathrm{C}}_{21}\mathrm{MgX}$ , of a carbon acid, ${\mathrm{R}}_3\mathrm{COH}$, and is thus a carbon anion, or carbanion.

Preparation of deuterated compound

The Grignard reagent converts R-MgX to R-H by reacting with a proton donor. Similarly, Grignard reagent also reacts with a deuterium donor to convert R-MgX into R-D.

Preparation of deuterated butane