ii 4 SCIENCE PROGRESS 



Besides the ammonium salts of the acids there are other 

 classes of bodies which behave as ammono-acids. The amides 

 and imides of the organic acids form a very large and well- 

 known group of compounds and bear exactly the same relation 

 to the organic acids as ammonia does to water. 



This relationship is shown very clearly by their formation 

 from the acid chlorides. 



In liquid ammonia : CH 3 .CO. CI + NH 3 = CH 3 .CO.NH, + HC1 

 In water : CH 3 . CO . CI + H 2 = CH 3 . CO . OH + HC1. 



Hence it is not surprising to find that these compounds behave 

 as ammono-acids, their solutions in liquid ammonia being 

 capable of conducting electricity, discharging the colour of 

 alkaline phenolphthalein solutions and forming ammono-salts 

 with ammono-bases. 



Less well known are the amides, imides and nitrides of 

 the non-metallic electro-negative elements ; these are strictly 

 comparable with the better-known organic compounds ; and 

 they also are related to the corresponding acids as ammonia 

 is to water. The hydroxy compounds of the metallic elements 

 are bases and those of the non-metallic elements form acids ; 

 in just the same way the amido compounds of the former are 

 ammono-bases, while those of the latter are ammono-acids. Just 

 as the halides and sulphides of the strongly electro-negative 

 elements are completely decomposed by the action of water, so 

 also are the same compounds completely decomposed in liquid 

 ammonia, yielding compounds bearing the same relation to 

 ammonia as the products of hydrolysis do to water. 



I BCI3 + 3NH3 = B(NH,) 3 + 3HCI 

 (BCls + 3H,0 = B(OH) 3 + 3HCI 

 /PC1 3 + 2NH 3 = P(NH) . NH, + 3HCI 

 \PC1, + 3HX) = P(OH) 3 + 3HCI 

 JSiSj + 2NH3 = Si(NH) 2 + 2H 2 S 

 (SiS 2 + 2H 2 = Si 2 + 2H 2 S 



Franklin and Stafford (14) find that the ammono-bases 

 already mentioned and the ammono-acids interact when dis- 

 solved in ammonia, giving rise to ammono-salts. For instance, 

 acetamide and either one or two molecules of potassium amide 



