492 



SCIENCE 



[Vol. LVI,. No. 1452 



Frederick W. Stavelt. The behavior of the 

 mercuric salts of various substituted acetic acids 

 toward heat has been investigated. It has been 

 found that the reaction products depend to a 

 very large extent upon the nature of the substi- 

 tuted groups. In the case of the mercury salts 

 of altyl substituted acetic acids the mercury 

 either replaces a hydrogen of the alpha carbon 

 atom, or, if there is none available, no reaction 

 takes place (compare, however, the behavior of 

 trichloroacetic acid). In the case of the mercury 

 salts of the phenylated acetic acids the mercury 

 enters the ortho position in the benzene ring. 

 However, upon heating the mercury salts of sub- 

 stituted acetic acids, which lose carbon dioxide 

 upon heating rather easily, a different reaction 

 takes place: the mercury usually talcing the place 

 originally occupied by the carboxyl groups. Thus, 

 dimethyl and diethyl acetoacetie acids behave that 

 way. The stability of the various compounds, 

 prepared in the course of this work, towards 

 various reagents has also been studied, and the 

 significance of the tests pointed out. 



The action of mercury on certain alkyl iodides 

 and substituted alhyl iodides: J. Louis MatnjVed. 

 During the present work it has been shown that 

 the direct union of metallic mercury and methyl 

 iodide is not hastened by ultraviolet light but is 

 hastened by a specially arranged arc light. The 

 reaction is preceded by the formation of a small 

 amount of mercurous iodide. If mereurous 

 iodide is used with methyl iodide, methyl mer- 

 curic iodide is formed rapidly. The action of 

 metallic mercury is confined almost entirely to 

 methyl iodide. The use of mercurous iodide 

 makes possible the extension of the reaction to 

 higher iodides and even to benzyl iodide. The 

 work is being extended both to a study of the 

 limits of the reaction and of the particular wave 

 lengths wliieh increase the speed of the reaction. 



The structure of the corapounds from mercuric 

 salts and defines: Eoger Adams, F. L. Koman, 

 W. M. Spekry. Two different general formulas 

 have been suggested for the products of mercury 

 salts and olefines, true addition compounds such 

 as HOCH2CH2HgS, and molcular compounds such 

 as CH2:CH2:Hg(0H)5. The former have been 

 shown to be correct by a study of the action of 

 mercury salts on o-allyl phenols, which give 

 products for which no reasonable "molecular" 

 formulas can be WTitten. o-AUyl phenol reacts 

 with mercuric chloride to form 2-chloromercuri- 

 methyl-2, 3-dihydro-ben2ofuran and hydrochloric 

 acid. Treatment of this product with sodium 



amalgam gives the corresponding mercuribis com- 

 pound. Treatment with potassium iodide and 

 iodine gives the corresponding iodomethyl com- 

 pound which, on reduction, gives 2-methyl-2, 3- 

 dihydrobenzofuran. AUyl amine and mercuric 

 chloride give a substance of the following struc- 

 ture . which also can not be easily explained on 

 the basis of a "molecular" formula: 

 ClHg— CH2— CH— CH2NH.HCI— 



HCl— NH— CH2— CH— CH2— HgCl 



The electromotive force of organic compounds: 

 Aldehydes: S. B. Aeenson and D. J. Brown. 



The polymerization of the amylenes: James F. 

 NoRRis and J. M. Joubert. The action of vari- 

 ous concentrations of sulfuric acid on the five 

 amylenes was studied. Trimethylethylene and un- 

 symmetrical methylethylethylene were the most 

 soluble and the most readily polymerized. In the 

 ease of these hydrocarbons no alkyl sulfuric acids 

 were formed. The mechanism of the polymeriza- 

 tion appears to consist in the dehydration of the 

 alcohol first formed from the hydrocarbon. Iso- 

 propylethylene was the only isomer which was 

 polymerized without previous solution in the acid. 

 The study of the products formed as the result 

 of the decomposition of the ozonides of the 

 polymers led to conclusions as to the structure of 

 the dimers of trimethylethylene and isopropyl- 

 ethylene. Improved methods of preparation of 

 the compounds studied were found. 



The relationship between structure and oxida- 

 tion potential of quinones: J. B. Conant and 

 L. F. FiESER. The oxidation-reduction potential 

 of a number of quinones is being measured in 

 alcoholic hydrochloric acid by a titration method. 

 The results at 25°, expressed on the hydrogen 

 electrode scale for certain typical quinones are: 

 benzoquinone 0.711, 1, 2-naphthoquinone 0.579, 



1, -i-naphthoquinone 0.48-1, phenanthraquinone 

 0.471, anthraquinone 0.155. Measurements of 

 various derivatives show that substitution of 

 hydrogen by CI, SO3H, CO2H or CO2B increases 

 the potential, substitution by alkyl lowers it. The 

 effect of substituents is not entirely cumulative as 

 the following values obtained with ehloroquinones 

 show: monochloro 0.736, 2, 6-diehloro 0.746, 



2, 5-dichloro 0.707, tetrachloro 0.695. 



The oxidation of tribromoaniline : W. H. 

 Hunter and A. G. Maters. The oxidation of 

 2, 4, 6-tribromoaniline by chromic acid yields 

 almost quantitatively the 2, 4, 6-tribromoanil of 

 2, 6-dibromquinone. This reaction may be formu- 

 lated as a benzidine rearrangement, or as a reac- 

 tion of unsaturated radicals. 



