84 ELECTROLYSIS AND ELECTRO SYNTHESIS 



attacked, gold but very slightly, and palladium not 

 at all. 



The formation of the phenol ester of sulphuric acid 

 in living organisms is supposed, like carbamide, to be 

 the result of dehydration. Taking this into consid- 

 eration, Drechsel carried out the following experiment: 



A saturated solution of acid magnesium carbonate 

 was mixed with an equal volume of a solution of 

 magnesium "sulphate and the mixture was saturated 

 with commercial carbolic acid. 1 



When this solution was electrolyzed for thirty 

 hours with alternating currents and platinum elec- 

 trodes were used, the following products were ob- 

 tained: 



1. ^-Diphenol. 7. Succinic acid. 



2. Pyrocatechin. 8. Malonic acid (?). 



3. Hydroquinone. 9. n-Valeric acid (?). 



4. Phenol ester of sul- 10. n-Butyric acid (?). 



phuric acid. n. Some cyclohexanone," 



5. Oxalic acid. C 6 H 10 O. 



6. Formic acid. 



According to Drechsel the formation of the phenol 

 ester of sulphuric acid is probably represented by the 

 following equations: 



I. C 6 H 6 OH+HO.SO 8 H+O=C 6 H 5 .OOSO 3 H+H,O, 

 II. C 6 H 6 .OOSO 3 H + 2H = C 6 H 5 .SO 3 H + H a O. 



1 Journ. prakt. Chem., [2] 29, 229. 



2 Jbib. t [2] 38, 67. 



