The formation of novel organometallic compounds by the reaction of organic substrates with finely divided metal powders represents a powerful tool for the synthetic chemist. The direct reaction with a zerovalent metal is the only viable method of synthesis for many of these compounds. Accordingly, chemists have been actively developing new methods for increasing the reactivity of metal powders toward organic substrates. Three principal approaches have been developed in recent years: the metal vaporization method, sonochemistry, and the preparation of finely divided metal powders by the reduction of metal salts. A number of new methods of synthesis have resulted from these studies.