HVDROXYLAMINE AN'D ITS SALTS. — ROSS. 109 



piuitied accordino- to the method of Jones and Lindsay^ by dis- 

 tilHng twice, first from sulphuric acid and potassum bichro- 

 mate, and then from liarium liydroxide did not appear to liavc 

 any greater resistance than that distilled from barium hydroxide 

 alone. 



A constant temperature was maintained by placing the cell 

 containing the solution whose resistance was to be determined 

 in a large vessel of tap water kept stirred hy a meclianical 

 stirrer, dris'en bj- a small hydraulic motor. The thermometer 

 was graduated to a tiftieth, and had its errors determined at the 

 Pln'sikalisch-Technische Reichsanstalt, Berlin. 



When starting to determine the conductivities of the liydrox}^- 

 lamine salts, it was noticed that with each salt the conductivity 

 increased continually^ In the case of the stronger solutions the 

 increase in conductivity took place slowly, but rapidly when the 

 solutions were very dilute. A one-tenth normal solution of h}^- 

 droxylamine chloride was found to have the same conductivity 

 as one made up a month before. The conductivity was also 

 found to remain the same, although the solution was left in an 

 open vessel for some time, showing that the change in conductivi- 

 ty was not due to decomposition of the salt in solution. On plac- 

 ing the electrodes in the solution witliout being joined in the 

 circuit, the conductivity was found to have changed consider- 

 ably in a few minutes. It thus became evident that the change 

 in conductivity was due to the decomposition of the salt through 

 the oxidizing power of the platinum black. Briglit electrodes 

 produced but little effect. 



Hj^droxylamine in solution was found to be oxidized by 

 platinum black much more rapidly than its salts. 75 cc. of a 

 one-fifth normal solution placed in a cell with the electrodes 

 dipping in the solution were found to be completely decomposed 

 in eio-hteen hours. Bright electrodes were also found to produce 

 a considerable efl:ect. This made an accurate determination of 



1 American Chem. Jouni., 23, 329 (1902;. 



