2 ELECTROLYSIS AND ELECTROS YNTffESIS 



phatic hydroxyl compounds, only oxidation products 

 will appear. In fact hydrogen is evolved at the 

 negative pole, while the greater part of the oxygen is 

 absorbed. 



The first attempts to electrolyze alcohols were con- 

 fined to the action of the electric spark from an in- 

 duction apparatus on the vapor of an alcohol. By 

 thus treating ethyl alcohol M. Quet * and Perrot 2 

 obtained, besides some carbon, a substance which ex- 

 ploded on being heated, the chemical nature of which 

 they were unable to determine. Perrot found that 

 no water was formed in the decomposition of the 

 alcohol; he was also unable to prove the presence of 

 carbonic acid gas. Maquenne 3 obtained a gas which 

 possessed a strong aldehydic odor, and contained 

 hydrogen, ethane, ethylene, acetylene, carbon mon- 

 oxide, and carbon dioxide. 



The results obtained by the use of direct currents 

 were much more satisfactory than the above. We 

 are indebted to Renard, 4 Almeida and Dehrain, 

 Jaillard,' and Habermann 7 for the most thorough ex- 

 periments on this subject. 



Methyl Alcohol. The results obtained with methyl 

 alcohol can be summed up as follows: Hydrogen 

 being evolved, the oxidation products formed are: 



1 Comp. rend., 46, 903. s Comp. rend., 46, 180. 



8 Bull. soc. chim., 37, 298. 4 Comp. rend., 80, 105, 236. 



5 Comp. rend., 51, 214. ' Comp. rend., 58, 203. 

 * Monatsch. Wien, 7, 259. 



