200 



iipliiiul si'parati'd il from tlic Tipiiccanoc \'all(^v. Later, after Moot's Creek 

 had swung- to the west side of its vaUey, the Tippecanoe by its westward 

 meander removed tlie dividiii.u- strip, tluis forming the present gap. 



The Action of HvDRO(iEN Perox'De ox Cuprous Chloride. 

 W. M. Blanchard. 



This investigation was suggested l»y the results obtained in tlie study 

 of the action of large volumes of water on cuprous chloride. Some time 

 ago my attention was called to the fact that when a large volume of water 

 is added to cuprous chloride the salt becomes orange colored. If this water 

 is removed and a second (luantity added the color of the salt deepens, and 

 if this operation is carried on long enough, a few days being sufficient if 

 the water is changed every few hours, the salt finally becomes a bright 

 red and in all respects resembles cuprous oxide. Fpon analysis the com- 

 pound proved to be almost piu-e cupi'ous oxide. 



A search through the literature at command was made but no such 

 action as this was foimd recorded. A careful study of the reaction was 

 then made. It was at tirst lielieved tliat the reaction toolc place according 

 to this equation: 



Cu^Cl^ + HjO^iCujO 4 2HC1. 



It seemed that tlie first water added resulted in the conversion of a 

 part of the cuprous chloride into cuprous oxide and hydrocloric acid and 

 that no further change took place until this acid was removed, and more 

 water added. But further investigation showed that this was not correct. 

 The water removed was found to contain cupric chloride; this salt coiild 

 be produced in this case only by oxidation, and the oxidation could result 

 in all prol)ability only from oxygen dissolved iu the water. 



By properly consti-ucted apparatus it was shown that water which 

 had been previously boiled for an hour and cooled iu a current of hydro- 

 gen produced no change on cuprous chloride. 



About this time I had access to Dammer's Handbook of Inorganic 

 Chemistry and there I found a reference to this very reaction. It was 

 expressed by the following equation: 



2 CU2CI2 + O = Cu20 + 2Cu01j. 



