NITRIC DERIVATIVES FROM COMPLEX ALCOHOLS. 285 



Assuming the following equation to represent the explosive 

 decomposition of this ether 



i[2CH 2 (HN0 3 ) = C0 2 + CO + N 2 + 3H 2 0], 

 the heat disengaged would be + 123'8 Cal. for 77 grms. But 

 if we prefer to assume that the decomposition answers to the 

 formula 



J(2C0 2 + N 2 + H 2 + 2H 2 0), 



we shall get + 1241 Cal., which is, to all intents, the same. 

 This gives for 1 grm., 1602 cal. 

 6. Let us also take the formation of ethylene nitrate 



C 2 H 2 (HN0 3 ) 2 , 



A, = 11T7, derived from the heat of combustion of glycol, as 

 observed by M. Louguinine. The quantity 4- 66*9 Cal. for 

 1 equivalent = 152 grms. thus expresses the heat of formation 

 from the elements. 



The heat of decomposition will in this case be identical with 

 the heat of total combustion 



C 2 H 2 (HN0 3 ) 2 = 2C0 2 + 2H 2 + N 2 

 gives off -f 258-8 Cal. for 152 grms., or, for 1 grm., 1956 cal. 



Since it does not contain any excess of oxygen, ethylene 

 nitrate must therefore be an explosive substance with maximum 

 effect. 



5. Nitric Derivatives from Complex Alcohols. 



1. We may now proceed to nitric derivatives produced from 

 alcohols of complex function. The only ones that have been 

 studied from a thermal point of view are cellulose and its 

 isomers, which are alcoholic ethers, themselves derived from 

 glucose, an aldehydic alcohol. 1 



2. These compounds, when treated with water or alkalis, do 

 not decompose in a simple manner, i.e. so as to reproduce the 

 original nitric acid and cellulose ; but give rise to complex 

 reactions, which are imperfectly known, and in which the 

 aldehydic function seems to play a part. 



On the other hand, when treated with reducing agents, so 

 as to cause the destruction of the nitric acid, they reproduce 

 the cellulose, which still retains its original properties. 



3. The greater stability possessed by this class of nitric de- 

 rivatives, when treated with agents of hydration, corresponds, 

 as we shall show, to the greater heat of nitration, i.e. to the 

 more considerable loss of energy in the act of preparation. 2 



Only two derivatives of this order have been studied from a 

 thermal point of view, viz. gun-cotton and xyloidin. 



1 See the author's " Traits' e'le'mentaire de Chimie organique," torn. i. p. 371. 

 1881. Dunod. 



2 See the theorem on p. 123. 



