14 ELECTROLYSIS AND ELECTROS YN THESIS 



and formic acid are in fact always formed at the posi- 

 tive pole and hydrogen and sodium hydroxide at the 

 negative pole. The discussion of the other salts is 

 unnecessary since their behavior is quite analogous. 



For my I Chloride (?) has been obtained by Losanitsch 

 and Jovitschitsch from a mixture of carbon monoxide 

 and hydrochloric acid by the action of the electric 

 discharge, and by a like method formamide has been 

 prepared from carbon monoxide and ammonia. 



Acetic Acid. Acetic acid is formed in the electroly- 

 sis of methyl and ethyl alcohol when the electric 

 spark is passed through a mixture of alcohol vapor 

 and oxygen, or methane and carbon dioxide. On the 

 other hand acetic acid can be converted into alcohol 

 by electrolytic reduction, if the acid is substituted in 

 place of nitric acid in the porous cup of a Bunsen 

 element. 1 



Glacial acetic acid is a poor conductor of electricity. 

 According to Lapschin and Tichanowitsch a its decom- 

 position when effected with the use of 900 Bunsen 

 elements yields at the anode, carbon monoxide and 

 carbon dioxide; at the cathode, carbon and a small 

 quantity of a gas the nature of which could not be 

 established. Bourgoin, 3 on electrolyzing the dilute 



1 Tommasi, TraitS d'Electrochimie, 724; Comp. rend., 69, 1374; 

 ibid., 70, 731; Chem. Ber., 29, 1390. 

 * Neue Peters. Acad. Bull., 4, 81. 

 3 Ann. chim. phys., [4], 14, 157. 



