THE REDUCTION OP NITROSOSULPHATES. 287 



silver ; so, conversely, nitrososulphate is reducible to a virtual sul- 

 phite, because it is the sulphate of a hydrogeni sable radical, whereas 

 other sulphates have radicals, metal, alkyl, or ammonium, which do 

 not hydrogenise. If it stood alone, the conversion of nitrososulphate 

 into amidosulphonate might point to a sulphonic constitution for it ; 

 but other reactions make the acceptance of this impossible, unless, 

 indeed, it could be a half sulphonic and half sulphatic salt, which 

 seems also impossible. Were it of sulphonic constitution, it ought to 

 yield by reduction a hydrazine-sulphonate, none of which can be 

 found. When, after reduction, the solution is acidified and all sul- 

 phur dioxide blown out of it, it yields up all its hydrazine to benz- 

 aldehyde, and retains no discoverable hydrazine derivative. 



The formation of hydrazine presents a difficulty, whatever con- 

 stitution is given to the nitrososnlphates, in the reduction it requires 

 of the KON group. That this group can resist the attack of sodium 

 amalgam is shown by the formation of the hyponitrite from a nitrite 

 and from a nitrososulphate. Besides this, Dunstan and Dyinond (J. 

 Gh. Soc, 1887, 51 567) specially tested the matter, and found a 

 hyponitrite to be irreducible by sodium amalgam. Two ways out of 

 the difficulty present themselves. It may be admitted that the group, 

 KON 2 , detached when the sodium forms alkali sulphate, is reducible 

 to hydrazine and potassium hydroxide, although (KON) 2 is not. 

 Or, considering that a nitrososulphate reverts, when heated, to sul- 

 phite and nitric oxide, even in its strongly alkaline solution, as we have 

 shown (1895, this vol., p. 10) in the case of the sodium salt, we may 

 assume that, to a slight extent, this reversion occurs during the heating 

 caused by the action of the sodium amalgam, and gives nitric oxide 

 or, rather, dinitrosyl (NO) 2 , ready to be reduced by the sodium and 

 water into hydrazine. In studying the action of alcohol on nitroso- 

 snlphates, we have already had reason to recognise this possibility of 



