OX OXYAMIDOSULPHOXATES. -;-; 



ZZ.) 



Oxidation of oxyamidosulphonates by basic reagents. 



Fremv observed that manganese dioxide dissolved as manganous 

 salt in oxyamidosulphonie acid with effervescence of oxygen. Also 

 that the same reagent caused a lively effervescence in a solution of the 

 potassium salt. In these observations he was right save in mistaking 

 nitrous oxide for oxygen. Finally, he found that the potassium salt 

 immediately reduces salts of silver, copper, and gold. We must ex- 

 cept copper from this statement, when alkali is absent Claus found 

 that in the presence of potassium hydroxide the potassium salt reduces 

 salts of copper and silver in the cold, just like hydroxyamine, as we 

 have already had occasion to mention, but he made only qualitative 

 experiments. Raschig, who holds that alkali converts oxyamido- 

 sulphonates wholly into their equivalent of hydroxyamine, records 

 no experimental determination of this point, though he quantitatively 

 estimated the hydroxyamine produced by the action of an acid. 



The reaction which takes place in our hands is the conversion 

 of the oxyamidosulphonate into sulphite and sulphate and the re- 

 duction of a quantity of metal-oxide equivalent to the oxidation of 

 the oxyamide residue, and not of hydroxyamine supposed to be pro- 

 duced. That is to say, the cuprous oxide obtained is half what it 

 would be were hvdroxvamine first formed as believed by Claus and 

 Raschig. The equation, therefore, will stand thus — 

 2 HONH(S0 3 K) + 2CuO + 2KOH - 

 l\,S0 ; .+ KoS0 4 + Cu 2 + X,0 + 3H,O 

 which shows the potassium hydroxide taking the two sulphonic re- 

 sidues to form sulphite, sulphate, * and water, and the copper-oxide 

 oxidising to water the one hydrogen of each of the oxyamido residues, 

 thus leaving hyponitrous acid to resolve itself finally into nitrous 



* Hyposulphate was searoliod for, and could nut bo found. 



