Decomposition of Cuminaie of Ammonia by Heat. 465 



The strongest nitric acid has but little action upon this 

 substance ; after boiling, however, and setting aside for some 

 days, crystals of cuminic acid are formed. On being heated 

 with potassium it darkened, and apparently another oil was 

 produced ; the mass on being washed and tested for cyano- 

 gen in the usual manner gave a copious precipitate of prus- 

 sian blue, which seems to be strongly in favour of the view 

 which Kolbe and Frankland have recently promulgated. A 

 strong alcoholic solution of potash has no immediate action 

 on cumonitrile, but after a day or two, on pouring the li- 

 quid into a watch-glass, it partially solidified into a yellow 

 crystalline mass, a mixture of the original substance with 

 white crystals. These crystals after purification had all the 

 appearance of cuminamide, and in order to be satisfied of 

 their composition — 



I, 0*174 grm. burnt with oxide of copper yielded 0*472 of 

 carbonic acid and 0*124 of water; the calculated per-centage 

 of carbon and hydrogen from these numbers being — 

 Carbon . . 73*62 

 Hydrogen . 7*91 

 These numbers correspond to those of cuminamide, as may be 

 seen by a comparison with the former analyses. 



It appears then that cumonitrile, on the addition of potash, 

 is not, as might have been expected, converted into cuminate 

 of ammonia, but into cuminamide, taking 2 instead of 4 atoms 

 of water— -C20 H,i N + 2HO = Cgo HigNO^, the latter body 

 being, as before remarked, in such a remarkable degree un- 

 affected by alkalies or acids. 



Having obtained one amide with comparative ease, many 

 other ammoniacal salts were heated for the purpose of obtain- 

 ing analogous amidogen compounds. Benzoate of ammonia 

 was tried unsuccessfully, and it appears from the account 

 published by Fehling of his investigation of benzonitrile, that 

 the residue in the retort consisted entirely of benzoate of am- 

 monia, that salt appearing to have lost directly 4 equivs. of 

 water without undergoing an intermediate conversion into an 

 amide by the loss of 2 equivs. Nitrobenzoic acid was dis- 

 solved in ammonia, evaporated, and cautiously fused for a 

 considerable time ; when cold it was found to be insoluble in 

 water and ammonia at the ordinary temperature, but dissolved 

 by hot water, from which it crystallized in beautiful yellow 

 needles. On analysis, the following results were obtained : — 



I. 0*222 grm. of substance burnt with oxide of copper 

 yielded 0*410 of carbonic acid and 0*080 of water. 



II. 0*255 grm. yielded 0*472 of carbonic acid and 0*087 of 

 water. 



P/iil. Mag. S. 3. Vol. 31 . No. 210. Dec. 1847. 2 H 



