Perchlorate of the Oxide of Ethnle, 6jX. 63 



Art. IY. — On the Perchlorate of the Oxide of Ethule, or Per- 

 chloric Ether ; by Clark Hare and Martin H. Boye. 



Read before the American Philosophical Society, Dec. 4, 1840. 



The energetic properties of perchloric acid, and its stability, 

 compared with the other compounds of chlorine with oxygen, 

 led us to the belief that this acid might be combined with the 

 substance which performs the part of a base in that class of or- 

 ganic salts which are generally designated by the name of ethers, 

 and for which Berzelius, in consequence of his theoretical views, 

 has adopted the name of oxide of ethule. For this purpose a 

 concentrated solution of perchlorate and sulphovinate of barytes, 

 in equivalent proportions, was subjected to distillation. The 

 sulphovinate of barytes may be considered as a double sulphate 

 of barytes and the oxide of ethule ; and we anticipated that, 

 when heat was apphed, a double decomposition would take place 

 between the latter and the perchlorate of barytes. So long as 

 the salts remained in solution, no reaction occurred, but as soon 

 as they became solid in consequence of the distillation of the 

 water, a reciprocal decomposition ensued, and a sweet ethereal 

 liquid distilled into the receiver. This liquid is the perchlorate 

 of the oxide of ethule. 



As this substance is extremely explosive, it is necessary in or- 

 der to prepare it with safety, to operate on small quantities. We 

 have employed from seventy to ninety grains of crystallized sul- 

 phovinate of barytes, with an equivalent proportion of perchlo- 

 rate of barytes ;* but we would recommend, especially on the 

 first performance of the experiment, the employment of consid- 

 erably smaller quantities. The salts should be intimately mixed 

 in a mortar, and placed in a small retort attached to a refrigera- 

 tor containing ice, and a receiver similarly cooled. The retort is 

 to be heated in an oil-bath, in which a thermometer is suspended, 

 so as to indicate the temperature. A wooden screen, furnished 

 with openings covered with thick plate-glass at such intervals as 



* The amount of barytes in the perchlorate should be ascertained by an experi- 

 ment, as it retains water with great tenacity. It may be worth while to mention, 

 that the perchlorate of potassa cannot be substituted for the perchlorate of barytes, 

 since the sulphovinate is decomposed without acting on it. We were equally un- 

 successful in an attempt to procure the ether by the distillation of perchlorate of 

 barytes and concentrated sulphovinic acid. 



