HYDROXYLAMINE AND ITS SALTS. ROSS. 105 



color was, therefore, obviously due to oxides of nitrogen result- 

 ing from decomposition of the phosphate other than that which 

 leads to the formation of hydroxylamine. 



Properties of Hydroxylamine. 



Hydroxylamine resembles ammonia in many of its chemical 

 reactions. With a neutral solution of ferric chloride, it gives a 

 precipitate of ferric hydroxide, part of the salt being reduced 

 at the same time to the ferrous state. 



Hydrox3damine also gives with salts of manganese and zinc 

 a precipitate of the hydroxides of these metals, soluble in hy- 

 droxylamine chloride. 



With salts of aluminium and chromium, it gives a precipitate 

 of aluminium hydroxide and chromium hydroxide, insoluble in 

 excess. 



Hydrox^'lamine differs from ammonia in acting as a strong 

 reducmg agent. Added in excess to an acid solution of a ferric 

 salt, the whole of the iron is reduced to the ferrous condition. 



With salts of copper, it gives a precipitate of cuprous oxide 

 on warming. 



Added to a solution of mercuric chloride it first precipitates 

 mercurous chloride, and then, on adding an excess, the latter is 

 reduced to metallic mercur3^ 



Added to silver nitrate, it gives a black precipitate of metal- 

 lic silver. 



Its behaviour towards such oxidizing reagents as potassium 

 permanganate and potassium bichromate has been studied by 

 Knorre and Arndt.^ 



Although hydroxylamine reacts with litmus, it was found to 

 have no eftect on either phenol-phthalein or methyl orange. 



W^hen kept in a warm room hydroxjdamine slowly breaks 

 up into ammonia, water and nitrogen. 



3 X H3 O = X H + 3 H, O + X^. 



1 Ber. d. Chem. Ges. 33, 30 (1900). 



