Chemistry. — ''On Polymers of Methylchavicol" . (Preliminary 

 communication). By Prof. P. van Romburgh and J. M. van 

 db:r Zanden. 



(Communicated in the meeting of March 31, 1917.) 



Some years ago one of us (v. R.) communicated that through 

 lieating of methylchavicol some products of polymerisation were 

 obtained, viz, one that melts at 98°, and one that melts at 166°, 

 while moreover still a very slight quantity of a compound melting 

 above 200° could be separated. Elementary analyses and deter- 

 minations of the molecular weight of the two first-mentioned products 

 made it probable that these are dimers of methylchavicol. 



The compound melting at 98° gave a dibromide melting at 87° 

 with bromine. 



Since then a greater quantity of these polymers has been pi-epared, 

 so that a more extensive investigation was possible, some results 

 of which will now briefly be communicated by us here. 



In the first place it has been tried to augment the not very large 

 yield of polymers. On change of the duration of the heating and 

 of the temperature it appeared that a slight improvement of the 

 yield can only be obtained by prolonging the former. 



Besides the crystalline compounds a viscous syrup, which still 

 contains large quantities of it, is formed. Now we tried to separate 

 part of it by distillation in vacuo (15 m.m.), and we actually 

 succeeded in getting a fairly large yield of crystals from the fraction 

 283°— 313°. When the residue in the flask is heated to a higher 

 temperature (to 350°), a reaction evidently sets in, at least the 

 distillate becomes thinly liquid and the liquid that was distilled over 

 goes over at ordinary pressure between 150° and 350°. 



By continued fractionated distillation a product boiling between 

 175° and 178° was obtained, whose smell resembles that of the 

 methylether of paracresol boiling at 175°. 5. Oxidation of the compound 

 formed wdth the mixture according to Kimani yields an acid, which 

 after recrystallisation melts between 178° and 181° and does not 

 give lowering of the melting point when mixed with anisic acid. 



If the substance is treated with cone, nitric acid (Sp. gr. 1.5), 

 light yellow crystals are formed melting at 122°, which do not 



