OF THE METALLIC CARBIDES. 21 



MANGANESE AND CARBON. 

 Troost and Hautefeuille are the discoverers of the carbide whose for- 

 mula is MngC. This carbide was also produced by Moissan ; he stated 

 that with a current of 900 amp, and 50 volts the reduction is practically 

 instantaneous, while with the same voltage and 350 amp. only five to six 

 minutes' heating is necessary. MngC has a sp. gr. of 6.89. Fl attacks 

 it cold and CI by gentle heating. It burns in oxygen at a low tempera- 

 ture. When decomposed by water there result equal parts of CH^ and 

 H2. The equation is : — 



Mn3C+6H20=3Mn(OH)2+CH4+H2. 

 No fluid or liquid hydrocarbons are produced. In some early references 

 mention is made of MnC and MnaC 



LITERATURE. 



Brown, [MnC] Ueber Kohlenmetalle. J. prakt. Chem. (1839) 17, p. 492. 



Gmelin. [Mn2C and MnC] Handbook of Chemistry (Watt's trans., 1849), IV, p. 



213. 

 Gmelin-Kraut. [MnCo] (1882) II, 2. 



Mendeleef. Principles of Chemistry, I, p. 65 (note 19) ; II, p. 112-3. 

 Troost and Hautefeuille. [MnsC] Etude calorifique sur les carbures de fer et de 



manganese. Ann.de chim. (1876) [5] 9, p. 60, or Jsb. Chem. (1S76) p. 87, and 



C. R. (1875) 80, p. 964, and Sur les fontes manganesiferes, C. R. (1875) 80, p. 



909. 

 Arnold and Read. Trans. J. Chem. Soc. (London) (1894) 65, p. 788. 

 De Benneville. A study of some alloys with iron carbides. J. Iron and Steel Inst. 



(London) (1896) no. i. 

 MoisSAN. Sur la preparation rapide du chrome et du manganese k haute temperature. 



Bull. Soc. Chim. (1894) [3] 11, p. 13, 

 MoissAN. Sur le carbure de manganese [MnsC]. C. R. (1896) 122, p. 421, or Bull. 



Soc. Chim. (1S96) [3] 16, p. 1266; Abs. J. Chem, Soc. (1896) 70, pt. 2, p. 423, 



and Chem. Centrbl. (1896) 67, pt. i, p. 741, 



MERCURY AND CARBON. 



A mercury acetylid is formed in several ways. It results as a heavy 

 white powder by passing C2H2 through freshly precipitated mercuric 

 oxide suspended in water. Several days are required to prepare it. Sp. 

 gr. = 5.3. Insoluble in H2O, alcohol, and ether. Slowly decomposed 

 by gradual heating above 110° into Hg and C, The compound explodes 

 by rapid heating or by a blow. Its formula seems to be 3HgC2-l-H20. 

 Keiser gives HgC2. 



LITERATURE. 



Plimpton and Travers. Metallic derivatives of acetylene. J. Chem. Soc. (London) 



65, p. 264. See also 

 Berthelot. Ann. de chim, [4] 9, p. 386. 

 Basset. Chem. News, 19, p. 28. 

 Keiser, Am. Chem. J. 15, p. 535. Sec also 

 Kutscherow. Bar. d. Chem. Ges, 17, p, 13, 



