Final answer:
Grignard reagents react with water to form alcohols, are strong nucleophiles, and are commonly used in organic synthesis, particularly for forming carbon-carbon bonds with carbonyl compounds.
Step-by-step explanation:
The correct statement for Grignard reagents is: A) They react with water to form alcohols. Grignard reagents are highly reactive organometallic compounds that contain a carbon-metal bond, typically with magnesium. They are commonly used in organic synthesis because of their strong nucleophilic character, which allows them to attack electrophilic carbon atoms in various substrates such as carbonyl compounds.
Grignard reagents are not weak nucleophiles; rather, they are strong nucleophiles. This property makes them extremely useful for forming carbon-carbon bonds in organic synthesis. For example, when Grignard reagents react with aldehydes or ketones, they can form secondary or tertiary alcohols after a nucleophilic addition reaction.
However, due to their high reactivity with electrophiles, Grignard reagents are incompatible with water and other protic solvents as they will react to form the corresponding alkane and Mg(OH)X. This is why it is crucial to keep Grignard reagents dry and to use anhydrous conditions during reactions.