160 Dr. E. Frankland on a New Series of 



More recently Lowig and Schweitzer* have commenced 

 labouring in the same field, and have filled up one of the gaps 

 in the foregoing table by the formation of stiba^thyle, (Sb(C'* H^),) 

 in acting upon iodide of sethyle with an alloy of antimony and 

 potassium ; the same chemists state also the probable formation 

 of similar compounds containing methyle and amyle in place of 

 sethyle, and bismuth and phosphorus instead of antimony. 



I have continued my researches upon the organo-metallic 

 bodies formed as above described, and having succeeded in 

 increasing the list by the addition of several new members, I 

 propose, in a series of papers, of which this is the first, to lay 

 before the Royal Society the results of my experiments on the 

 formation of bodies of this class. 



The agents which I have hitherto employed in the formation 

 of these organo-metallic compounds are two, viz. heat and light; 

 in many cases either of these can be used, in others only one 

 can be made to effect the desired combination, whilst more rarely 

 the assistance of both appears to be essential. In those experi- 

 ments in which heat was employed the materials were subjected 

 to its action in scaled glass tubes, about 12 inches long, and 

 varying in diameter from half an inch to 1 inch, the thickness 

 of the glass being about one-eighth of an inchf. To preserve 

 the gaseous products of the operation in a state of perfect purity 

 for subsequent investigation, the tubes were well exhausted 

 before being sealed; they were then immersed to about half 

 their depth in an oil-bath, and heated to the required tempera- 

 ture. In cases where the influence of light was employed, the 

 materials, confined in tubes of precisely similar dimensions, were 

 exposed to the sun's rays, concentrated in most cases by an 

 18-inch parabolic reflector, near the focus of which the tubes 

 were placed, either naked or surrounded by a solution of sulphate 

 of copper to absorb the calorific rays. By this arrangement the 

 light and heat could be increased, diminished, or modified at 

 pleasure, which was found very convenient in several of the 

 operations. 



Action of Tin upon Iodide ofJEthyle. 



"When iodide of sethyle and metallic tin are exposed to the 

 action of either heat or light, the tin gradually dissolves in the 

 sethereal liquid, which finally solidifies to a mass of nearly 

 colourless crystals. This reaction is effected most conveniently 

 by the action of light, an excess of tinfoil, cut into narrow slips, 



* Annalen der Ckemie und Pharmacie, vol. Ixxv. p. 315. 

 t A minute account of the construction and use of these tubes is given 

 in the Jounial of the Chemical Society, vol. ii. p. 266. 



