306 



SCIEXCE PROGRESS. 



Acid Corresponding to Potassium Ethyl Salt 

 Electrolysed. 



Malonic 



Succinic 



Glutaric 



Adipic 



Suberic 



Sebacic 



COOH-( CH 3 )COOH 

 COOH( CH 2 ) 2 -COOH 

 COOH-( CH, )..-COOH 

 COOH-( CH 2 ) 4 COOH 

 COOH-( Cu' 2 ) {i -COOH 

 COOH( CH.' ) 8 -COOH 



Acid Obtained by Electrosynthesis. 



Succinic COOH( CH, ),-COOH 



Adipic COOH-( CH, ) 4 -COOH 



Suberic COOH-( ChI ) 6 -COOH 



Sebacic COOH( CH, ) s -COOH 



DicarbododecanicCOOH-( CH, ^.yCOOH 

 Dicarbodecahexanic 



COOH( CH, ) 1G -COOH 



Methylmalonic COOH-(CHMe)-COOH i Dimethylsuccinic 1 COOH-(CHMe),-COOH 



Tetramethylsuc- 



cinic COOH-(CMe, ),-COOH 



Diethylsuccinic 1 COOH-(CHE"t)"/COOH 



Dimethylmalonic COOH-( CMe, )-COOH 

 Ethylmalonic COOH-(CHEt)-COOH 



Camphoric COOH-( C 8 H J4 )'COOH : Camphothetic COOH-(C 8 H 14 ),-COOH 



1 Two isomerides of the symmetrical dialkylsuccinic acids were obtained in each 

 case. 



The diethyl salts of the acids tabulated are not the only 

 products of the electrolysis. Besides them there are formed 

 the ethyl salts of monobasic unsaturated acids by a reaction 

 analogous to that expressed by means of equation IV. 

 The formation of these unsaturated ethereal salts always 

 takes place to some extent, but is especially noticeable in 

 the case of the acids with lateral branches, where the 

 quantity produced is quite considerable. In the case of 

 dimethylmalonic acid, for example, we have the ethyl salt 

 of methylacrylic acid CH 2 : CMe'COOEt formed according 

 to the equation — 



COO- COOH 



2CH 3 -CMe-COOEt = CH 3 GMeCOOEt 

 J + CH 2 :CMe-COOEt + C0 2 . 



Whether the formation of complex ethereal salts, by an 

 action of the type indicated by equation III., takes place, 

 is a question which has not yet been investigated. 



It is not every potassium ethyl salt of a dibasic acid 

 that will yield an ethereal product on electrolysis. In 

 fact, all the experience hitherto acquired seems to indicate 

 that only saturated unsubstituted acids of the fatty series 

 (including saturated rings) are capable of resisting the 

 oxidising action at the anode, cf. equation I., sufficiently to 

 permit the formation of ethereal compounds. Hydroxy- 



