tetraethyl lead

tetraethyl lead (TEL), organometallic compound containing the toxic metal lead that for much of the 20th century was the chief antiknock agent for automotive gasoline, or petrol. Beginning in the 1970s, “leaded gasoline” was phased out, first in the United States and then in Europe and around the world, on account of its contribution to lead poisoning and its interference with pollution-control devices installed in automobiles. The compound, manufactured by the action of ethyl chloride...