a new Product of Decomposition of Dinitrobenzole. 319 



hydrogen and eliminating oxygen, it is perfectly converted 

 into aniline. 



What, we may ask, would be the action of reducing means 

 upon dinitrobenzole? Various changes might be expected. 

 If all the oxygen were eliminated we might form a substance 

 possessing the formula C 12 H 4 N 2 ; but it was also conceivable 

 that the reduction would extend only to 1 equivalent of 

 hyponitric acid, and that the other equivalent might form 

 part of the new body ; in other words, that we might produce 

 nitraniline, 



^ 12 \N0 4 J <f; 



We were just about to make the experiment, when some 

 researches of Zinin* were published, on the action of hydro- 

 sulphuric acid upon dinitronaphthalole (nitronaphthalese) and 

 dinitrobenzole, which appeared very unfavourable to our views. 



Zinin found that by the action of hydrosulphuric acid upon 

 dinitronaphthalole, a new base is formed containing no oxygen. 

 By analogy this body should possess the composition — 



^20 "10 "^2 



' v ' 



New base. 



c *> {2N0J + 12HS 7 c *> H "> N * + 8HO + 12S * 



■ ■ 1 ■ 



Dinitronaphthalole. New base. 



But Zinin found, on analysing the double salt of this base 

 with bichloride of platinum, that its equivalent was only half, 



^20 "io ^2 p n m 



2 - 10 5 f 



showing that a division had taken place, whence he gave the 

 name seminaphthalidine to the new body. 



Seminaphthalidine is a well-characterized organic alkaloid, 

 forming with acids fine crystallizable salts. Zinin obtained 

 by the action of hydrosulphuric acid upon dinitrobenzole the 

 same result, but in this case far less decided. A difficultly 

 crystallizable substance is formed, also possessing a basic na- 

 ture, which however could not be obtained in the state of 

 purity. An approximative analysis of this substance showed 

 it to be analogous to the seminaphthalidine, i. e. C 6 H 4 N. 

 Zinin himself remarked, that this substance required a closer 

 examination. These researches appeared to cut off all hopes 

 of our ever.obtaining nitraniline ; nevertheless we considered 

 a continuation of our experiments in every way desirable, so 



* Erdmann's J gum. fur Prakt. Chemie, vol. xxxiii. p. 29. 



