noun

• A toxic colourless oily liquid made synthetically and used as an anti-knock agent in leaded petrol.

  Chemical formula: Pb(C₂H₅)₄

  ‘For most of the twentieth century, metallic sodium was heated with lead to form an alloy as the first step in the production of tetraethyl lead, an antiknock gasoline additive.’

  More example sentences

  • ‘When added to gasoline in minute amounts, tetraethyl lead prevents engine knock and increases the gasoline's octane rating.’
  • ‘In fact, tetraethyl lead in unleaded gasoline is replaced with a mixture (with antistroke properties) of benzene and its homologues (despite the fact that benzene does not exceed 1% in unleaded gasoline).’
  • ‘Organic lead compounds include tetramethyl and tetraethyl lead, which were heavily used as a gasoline additive, but this use has been drastically reduced in the US beginning in the late 1970s.’
  • ‘The advantage of tetraethyl lead was that it allowed auto manufacturers to use lower quality materials in the production of engines.’