“…Manipulations involving the reactions with magnesium were, unless stated otherwise, conducted in fully sealed glassware using standard high-vacuum techniques. , The magnesium used was doubly sublimed. Amounts of “total base” and Mg 2+ in organomagnesium samples were determined, after hydrolysis of a sample, by titration with HCl and EDTA, respectively. , Solvents were distilled from LiAlH 4 after predrying on KOH or in sealed glassware, distilled from sodium−potassium alloy. The starting materials 1-bromo-2-(bromomethyl)benzene (Aldrich), bromobenzene (Merck), 1,2-dibromobenzene (Aldrich), 2-bromo-4-methylaniline (Aldrich), 1,2-dibromoethane (Merck), MeMgBr (Aldrich), SmI 2 (Aldrich), Sm (40 mesh, Aldrich), CH 2 I 2 (Janssen), HMPA (Aldrich), and Florisil (Janssen) were commercially available.…”