Name: Hikmat Yar

Reg No: FA20-BPH-026

Assignment: 4

Instructor: Dr Zafar Hashmi

Definition

Any member of a class of substances containing at least one metal to carbon

bond in which the carbon is part of an organic group. The class includes
such compounds as ferrocene, a remarkably stable compound in which
an iron atom is sandwiched between two hydrocarbon rings.
Organometallic compounds are typically discussed in terms of the metal as
either main group compounds or transition compounds. The main-group
metals of organometallic compounds are typically considered to be those of
the S-block and the heavier elements of the p-block (groups 13–15) in
the periodic table of elements. The transition metals include those elements
in the d- and f-blocks.

Properties Of Organometallic Compounds

The physical and chemical properties of organometallic compounds vary
greatly. Most are solids, particularly those whose hydrocarbon groups are
ring-shaped or aromatic, but some are liquids and some are gases. Their
heat and oxidation stability vary widely. Some are very stable, but a number
of compounds of electropositive elements such as lithium, sodium and
aluminum are spontaneously flammable. Many organometallic compounds
are highly toxic, especially those that are volatile.

The properties of the organometallic compounds depend in large measure

on the type of carbon-metal bonds involved. Some are ordinary covalent
bonds, in which pairs of electrons are shared between atoms. Others
are multicenter covalent bonds, in which the bonding involves more than
two atoms. A third type are ionic bonds, in which the bonding electron pair
is donated by only one atom. In donor-acceptor bonds, the metal atom is
connected to hydrocarbons with multiple bonds between carbon atoms.

Importance Of Organometallic Compounds:

Organometallic compounds containing lead, tin, and mercury are all

commercially significant. A large number of organotin compounds, for
example, are used as pharmaceuticals, pesticides, stabilizers for
polyvinyl chloride, and fire retardants. Methylmercury has caused
severe pollution problems as a result of its toxicity. This fact has led to
stringent controls on the discharge of mercury from chemical plants
into rivers, lakes, and oceans.

Carbon monoxide reacts readily with many transition-metal atoms to

form metal carbonyls, themselves a class of organometallics. One of
the earliest to be discovered was tetracarbonyl nickel, a
volatile nickel compound that became the basis of a process for
purifying nickel. Metal carbonyls are employed as catalysts in many
reactions in the petrochemical industry.

Common Organometallic Compounds:

Applications
Organometallic Compounds have a broad range of applications in the field
of chemistry. Some of them are given below-

 In some commercial chemical reactions, organometallic compounds

are used as homogeneous catalysts.
 These compounds are used as stoichiometric reagents in both
industrial and research-oriented chemical reactions.
 These compounds are also used in the manufacture of some
semiconductors, which require the use of compounds such as
trimethylgallium, trimethylaluminum, trimethylindium, and
trimethyl antimony.
 They are also used in the production of light emitting diodes (or
LEDs).
 These compounds are employed in bulk hydrogenation processes
such as the production of margarine.
Reference
https://www.britannica.com/science/organometallic-compound
https://byjus.com/chemistry/organometallic-compounds/