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François Auguste Victor Grignard
François Auguste Victor Grignard
Born	May 6, 1871 Cherbourg, France
Died	December 13 1935 (aged 64) Lyon, France
Residence	France,
Nationality	French
Field	Physical chemistry
Institutions	University of Nancy
Alma mater	University of Lyon
Known for	Organic chemistry
Notable prizes	Nobel Prize for Chemistry (1912)

François Auguste Victor Grignard (May 6, 1871 in Cherbourg - December 13, 1935 in Lyon) was a Nobel Prize-winning French chemist.

Grignard was the son of a sail maker. After studying mathematics at Lyon he transferred to chemistry, becoming a professor at the University of Nancy in 1910. During World War I, he was transferred to the new field of chemical warfare, and worked on the manufacture of phosgene and the detection of mustard gas. His "opposite number" on the German side was another Nobel Prize winning Chemist, Fritz Haber.

He is most noted for devising a new method for creating carbon-carbon bonds (i.e. an addition reaction) in organic synthesis.^[1] The synthesis occurs in two steps:

1. Synthesis of the Grignard reagent: an organomagnesium compound (the Grignard reagent) is made reacting an organohalide (R-X, where R stands for some alkyl, acyl, or aryl radical and X is a halogen such as usually bromine or iodine) with magnesium metal dissolved in diethyl ether. The resulting compound, named a Grignard reagent, has the general chemical formula R-Mg-X.
2. Attack on the carbonyl: A ketone or an aldehyde (both contain a carbonyl group) is added to the solution containing the Grignard reagent. The carbon atom that is bonded to the Mg atom bonds to the carbonyl carbon atom by nucleophilic addition, with the formation of a new compound, which is an alkoxide. An aqueous or mild acidic workup will generate the alcohol final product.

The Grignard reaction is an important means of making larger organic compounds from smaller starting materials. By careful selection of the starting materials, a wide variety of compounds can be made by this reaction. For this work, Grignard was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1912 jointly with fellow Frenchman Paul Sabatier.

If the carbonyl compound is prochiral, the Grignard reaction will produce both enantiomers but often not a racemic mixture. Cram's rule is useful in predicting the distribution of products in such cases.

• G. Bram, E. Peralez, J.-C. Negrel, M. Chanon (1997). "Victor Grignard et la naissance de son réactif". Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences - Series IIB - Mechanics-Physics-Chemistry-Astronomy 325 (4): 235-240. doi:10.1016/S1251-8069(97)88283-8. 
• Blondel-Megrelis M (2004). "Victor Grignard Conference and Traite de Chimie organique". Actualite Chimiqué 275: 35-45. 
• Hodson, D. (1987). "Victor Grignard (1871-1935)". Chemistry in Britain 23: 141-2. 
• Philippe Jaussaud (2002). "Grignard et les terpènes". Actualite Chimiqué 255: 30. 

• Nobel Lecture The Use of Organomagnesium Compunds in Preparative Organic Chemistry from Nobelprize.org website
• Biography Biography from Nobelprize.org website
• Comptes Rendus

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