Lead Tetramethyl, Pb(CH₃)₄

Lead Tetramethyl (Tetramethide), Pb(CH₃)₄, formed from lead chloride and zinc methyl thus:

2PbCl₂ + 2Zn(CH₃)₂ = Pb(CH₃)₄ + 2ZnCl₂ + Pb,

or from lead-sodium alloy and methyl iodide, is a liquid boiling at 110° C. and having a density of 2.034 at 0° C. The halides Pb(CH₃)₃Cl, Pb(CH₃)₃Br, Pb(CH₃)₃I result from action of the corresponding halogens on the tetramethyl, and are crystalline solids easily soluble in alcohol.