76 HYPONITRITES ; rRüPERTIES AND PREPARATION BY 



Ethyl hyponilrile. — This alkyl salt was prepared by Zorn 

 and its vapour density taken by bim. It is very explosive and 

 not saponified by potassium hydroxide. In the moist state, it 

 slowly decomposes into nitrogen, alcohol, and aldehyde. 



Benzyl hyponitrite. — Hantzsch and Kaufmann have pre- 

 pared benzyl hyponitrile and determined its molecular magnitude 

 cryoscopically. It undergoes similar decomposition to the ethyl 

 salt. 



Constitution of the hyponitrites. 



Molecular magnitude. — In my first paper nothing could be 

 said as to the molecular magnitude and constitution of the hypo- 

 nitrites. In 1878, Zorn fully determined their molecular mag- 

 nitude, finding it to be that containing No, first, by establishing 

 the existence of an acid barium salt and illustrating the 

 similarity of hyponitrites to carbonates (a point Avhich had 

 already been noticed by me), and, then, by preparing ethyl 

 hyponitrite and taking its vapour density at reduced pressure 

 (Hofmann's method). It would therefore be unjust to the 

 memory of this chemist to admit Hantzsch's claim [Ann. 1898, 

 299, 68) to have finally established this point by determining 

 cryoscopically, in conjunction with Kaufmann, the molecular 

 magnitude of hyponitrous acid in water and of benzyl hyponi- 

 trite in acetic acid, valuable as these determinations are. The 

 possibility of determining the molecule of the acid in its solu- 

 tion in water rests u^^on the fact, also ascertained by these 

 chemists, that the acid only slightly ionises even in very dilute 

 solution. Maquenne, by a somewhat uncertain form of the 

 cryoscopic method, has also shown that in calcium hyponitroso- 



