124 PROCEEDINGS OP THE AMERICAN ACADEMY. 



V. 



CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE KENT CHEMICAL LABORATORY 

 OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO. 



ON THE CONSTITUTION OF THE NITROPARAFFINE 



SALTS. 



By J. U. Nef. 



Presented May 9, 1894. 



Victor Meter, who discovered the nitro fatty compounds, has, as 

 is well known, shown that the primary and secondary nitroparafEnes 

 differ from the corresponding tertiary derivatives, as well as from the 

 aromatic nitro bodies, especially in the fact that they possess acid 

 properties. He has explained this very noteworthy character by the 

 assumption that the introduction of the nitro group exerts an " acid 

 making " influence on the molecule, which, however, extends only to 

 hydrogen atoms bound to the same carbon atom as the negative radi- 

 cal. He therefore supposes * sodic nitroethane to possess the consti- 

 tution represented by the formula 



CHg-CHNa 

 I 

 NO,, 



and, in an analogous manner, he represents the sodium salt of secon- 

 dary nitropropane by the formula 



CHg^ 



CNa 

 CHa-^ I 



NO2. 



The fact that these salts, when treated with bromine, are converted 

 into bromnitroethane, 



CHgCHBr 

 I 

 NO2, 



* Ann. Chem. (Liebig), CLXXL 28, 48. 



