547 



with aluminium chloride and the quantities of the catalyst necessary 

 for the reaction were much less than in the synthesis of the ketones. 

 (Rec. 22, 301 (1903)). 



When it appeared that nitrobenzyl chloride, which does unite with 

 AICI3, was also attacked much less I'apidly than benzyl chloride, 

 and further that the very reactive anisol, which also forms a molecular 

 compound with AICI3, did not react (// *^/// with CCl^, whereas benzene 

 did so readily, the facts were such that I ventured the thesis that 

 the formation of compounds between tlie catalyst and the activated 

 substance had nothing to do with the actual catalytic action (Rec. 

 23,104 (1904)) and that, when the catalyst does not unite with one 

 of the substances present in the reaction, we are dealing with catalytic 

 action in its purest form (Rec. 24, 10 (1905)). 



Thus b}' means of the inductive method, I came to the conclusion 

 that the formation of a compound with the catalyst did not give an 

 explanation of the catalytic action as such, and that with this the 

 theory of the intermediate products exploded. 



2. I have also tried to demonstrate subsequently by means of the 

 deductive method that the formation of a compound of substance and 

 catalyst must necessarily lead to a partial paralysis of the latter 

 (Proc. 1907 p. 613 ; 1909 p. 418). 



Hence, if we wished to arrive at a satisfactory explanation this 

 had to be looked for in what happened before there is any question 

 of a compound between catalyst and substance. When the catalyst 

 draws near to the activated substance a phenomenon ought to take 

 place partaking more of a disruption or a dislocation than of a union 

 (Gedenkboek van Bemmelen p. 386, Rec. 29, 87 (1910)). 



I have then demonstrated (Proc. 1909 p. 4J9; also Rec. 32, 1 

 (1913); Cheni. Weekbl. 7, 121 (1910); Rec. 29, 86 (1910)) that a 

 catalyst like AICI3 exerts indeed a dissociating influence on the 

 chlorides which it activates; chloral was resolved into CO, HCl and 

 C2CI4 ; trimelhylacethyl chloride into carbon-monoxide, HCl, and 

 isobutenCj etc. 



But here it transpired also that even now the explanation was 

 not given, because the action had been too violent ; instead of the 

 to be expected condensation products with benzene there were 

 obtained in similar cases, either the decomposition products or the 

 condensation products of these molecule residues with benzene. Thus, 

 from SO2CI2 and the benzene hydrocarbons were generated relatively 

 very small quantities of sidphones compared to large quantities of 

 sulphinic acid and chlorine derivatives; owing to too great an aclivily 



Proceedings Royal Acad. Amsterdam. Vol. XVll. 



