C11KMISTRY. (New SUBSTANCES.) 



135 



been ascertained. Two new compounds are de- 

 scribedthe sulphocyanatc and the sulphocar- 

 bamide. The latter possesses fairly strong acid 

 properties. 



of the organo-metallic compounds of mag- 

 neMiim. the dimethyl, diethyl, and dipropyl 

 compounds were obtained by Dr. Lo'hr, of Ttt- 

 binpMi, in 1890. The work has been continued 

 in the same laboratory by Dr. Fleck, who now 

 describes the diphenyl compound, and gives 

 additional information concerning the others. 

 The nmgncsium alkyls are of a somewhat similar 

 nature to the well-known zinc methide and eth- 

 ide, but differ in the nature of certain of their 

 reactions, and their chemical activity is even 

 considerably superior to that of the zinc alkyls. 

 They are all spontaneously inflammable in the 

 open air, and the methyl compound is described 

 by Dr. Lo'hr as igniting spontaneously and burn- 

 ing in carbon dioxide gas, from which it is 

 capable of extracting the oxygen in combination. 

 The three fatty alkyls are best prepared by the 

 action of the alkyl iodides upon magnesium 

 amalgam. They all react in a most violent man- 

 ner with water. In the case of magnesium di- 

 plienyl Mg (C 8 H 6 ) a even when the substance is 

 covered with ether, and small pieces of ice are 

 slowly added, the reaction occurs almost explo- 

 sively. The substance is consequently extremely 

 hygroscopic, and attracts moisture from the at- 

 mosphere very rapidly when covered with a layer 

 of benzene. When freely exposed to the air it at 

 once burns to magnesium oxide and a carbona- 

 ceous mass. If, however, the composition is 

 covered with benzene and exposed to dry air for 

 some days, an oxy-compound, Mg(00H 6 )a, is 

 formed as a brown solid. Bromine reacts with 

 great energy to form bromides of magnesium 

 and phenyl, but the intermediate compound 

 bromo-magnesium diphenyl, corresponding to 

 zinc iodo-ethide is not formed ; and incapa- 

 bility of forming mixed halogen-alkyls is one of 

 the most characteristic distinctions between the 

 magnesium and the zinc alkyls. 



Ihe properties of amidophosphoric acid, 

 PONH a (OH) a , the primary amine of orthophos- 

 phoric acid, and those of several well-crystalliz- 

 ing salts, obtained from the chloride of diphenyl- 

 phosphoric acid, are described by H. N. Stokes, 

 in " The American Chemical Journal " ; the acid 

 crystallizes in tabular or short prismatic crys- 

 tals, which are insoluble in alcohol, but readily 

 soluble in water, to which they impart a sweetish 

 taste. The solution is easily distinguished from 

 phosphoric acid by its yielding no precipitate 

 with silver nitrate. It evolves no ammonia upon 

 treatment with caustic alkalies, but merely forms 

 the salt of the alkali metal. The solution 

 slowly decomposes into ammonium phosphate. 

 The solutions of the acid and neutral salts of the 

 alkali metals yield many corresponding acid and 

 neutral amidophosphates of other metals by 

 double decomposition with soluble salts of those 

 metals. 



Besides the powerful affinity of hydroxyla- 

 mine, NH a OH, already described in the "An- 

 nual Cyclopaedia," causing rapid action, Mr. 

 Labry de liruyn has discovered many interest- 

 ing properties in that substance. If the liquid 

 is heated under ordinary atmospheric pressure 

 in contact with the air, it explodes with great 



violence when a temperature between 60 and 

 70 C. is obtained ; if air is excluded, it may be 

 heated to 90 C. without accident, when regu- 

 lar decomposition into gaseous products occurs. 

 Explosion, however, usually follows at once if 

 this temperature is much exceeded, and gener- 

 ally after a short time if the source of heat is 

 removed as soon as the temperature has reached 

 90 C. The decomposition induced at this tem- 

 perature is accompanied by evolution of heat. 

 The crystals are without odor. They react with 

 considerable violence with the halogen elements, 

 the reaction in the case of chlorine being accom- 

 panied by production of flame. With metallic 

 sodium brilliant incandescence occurs. Warm 

 zinc dust reduces hydroxylamine to ammonia so 

 rapidly that if any considerable quantities are 

 employed a violent explosion follows. Highly 

 oxidized compounds react with the crystals in a 

 most energetic manner, with the accompaniment 

 of brilliant flame and detonation. Other reac- 

 tions described by the author amply demonstrate 

 the remarkable chemical agency with which an- 

 hydrous hydroxylamine is endowed. The melted 

 substance is capable of dissolving a considerable 

 volume of ammonia gas : and carbon dioxide and 

 sulphureted hydrogen are so soluble in it that 

 viscous liquids are produced that remain liquid 

 even at 10 C. 



Two well-crystallized compounds of the lac- 

 tides derived from salicylic acid and the next 

 higher (cresotinic) acid with chloroform are 

 described by Prof. Anschiitz, of Bonn. Chloro- 

 form being so loosely united with the lactides 

 that the temperature of boiling water is sufficient 

 to dissociate them, the compounds may be em- 

 ployed for obtaining pure chloroform, and for 

 preserving chloroform in a solid form, in which 

 it is not prone to decomposition. The lactide of 

 salicylic acid has long been supposed to be 

 formed when the acid is treated with oxychloride 

 of phosphorus. Prof. Anschiitz, however, shows 

 that the product of this reaction contains many 

 substances in addition, but by working under 

 special conditions he has succeeded in isolating 

 pure salycilide. Owing to the property which 

 salycilide possesses of combining with chloro- 

 form, it may be extracted from the white solid 

 product of the reaction with phosphorus, after 

 drying by means of chloroform. The compound 

 is deposited from the chloroform solution in large 

 colorless crystals belonging to the tetragonal svs- 

 tem. It possesses the composition C 9 H 4 .CO62- 

 CHC1 8 . The chloroform readily escapes upon 

 warming, in very much the same manner as the 

 water of crystallization contained in many crys- 

 tallized salts. The free salicylide remaining is a 

 solid substance melting at 261 C. In a similar 

 manner, phosphorus oxychloride reacts with the 

 three cresotinic acids, with formation among 

 other substances of lactides, which may be iso- 

 lated in the same way in the form of their chlo- 

 roform compounds. The pure lactides are read- 

 ily obtained from the chloroform compounds by 

 warming to 100 C., with evolution of pure 

 chloroform. 



A new series of compounds, in which the hy- 

 droxylic hydrogen of pnenols is replaced by the 

 element titanium, are described by M. Livy. 

 Their discovery was the result of a color reaction 

 of titanic acid in contact with sulphuric acid 





