Recently, compounds containing metal-metal bonds between main-group elements have attracted interest to a surprising extent. [1][2][3][4][5] In spite of the latest structural results for two crystalline Mg 2 R 2 compounds (R1 = [ArNC(NiPr 2 )NAr] À ; R2 = [{ArNCMe} 2 CH] À ; Ar= 2,6-diisopropylphenyl, iPr = isopropyl) [2] and in spite of a number of theoretical contributions on molecules with MgÀMg bonds, [10][11][12] several important questions still remain to be answered, for example, concerning the unexpected disproportionation stability of the abovementioned Mg I compounds. Herein, we present the following results: 1) On the basis of quantum-chemical-assisted thermodynamic calculations, a feasible synthesis of radical monomeric Mg I halides at temperatures near 900 8C is presented.2) The nature of the MgÀMg bond is investigated by spectroscopic examination of MgCl and its linear dimer Mg 2 Cl 2 in solid inert-gas matrixes; the MgÀMg dissociation energy is obtained. 3) By comparing the thermodynamics of Mg 2 Cl 2 (1), Mg 2 Cp 2 (2, Cp = cyclopentadienyl), and a model compound Mg 2 R* 2 (3, R* = C(NH 2 )(NCH 3 ) 2 ) analogous to crystalline Mg 2 (R1) 2 , the enormous disproportionation stability of the latter compound is explained. For further investigations, for example in the field of metal-rich Mg n R m clusters (n > m), the synthesis of reactive starting materials like MgCl is absolutely necessary. Initial results on the synthesis of MgCl are reported.After the first evidence for stable alkaline earth