176 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



ammonia on heating, and then decomposes : this latter observation was 

 repeated by Victor Meyer 'Ber. d. Btseh. Cheni. Ges. xxvii (1894), pp. 3153- 

 59). Lobry de Bruyn (Rec. tiav. Chim. Pays-Bas xiii (1894), pp. 148- ."4 | 

 states that s-trinitrobenzene on boiling with caustic soda or sodium carbonate 

 yields tetranitro-azoxybenzene ami dinitrophenol ; he also (Rec. fcrav. Chim. 

 Pays-Bas xh 14,150-155) isolated the red compound formed 



from potassium methoxide and s-trinitrobenzene, and found its composition 

 to correspond with the formula 



[t\H J XO:h.CH ; OK] : . H,0. 



Victor Meyer (Ice. ■it. ; cf. Ber. d. Dtsch. Chem. Ges. xxix 1896), pp. 848- 

 S50) regarded this compound as containing one hydrogen atom of the benzene 

 ring replaced by an atom of potassium, and proposed as its formula 



[( \H.K I 11 nHl . H,0. 



y de Bruyn. ho ■ inted oul t.) that metallic sodium does 



cot react with trinitrobenzene in benzene or toluene solution, even on boiling, 



U bable. Jackson and Boos (Amer. 



m. Journ. v pp. 44^ give further reasons for belie \ . . 



formula to l>e incorrect. 

 Bantzschai Dtsch. Chem. Gee. xxzii (1899 pp. 3137-48 



isolated the compound formed from a- trinitrotol .-- m methoxide, 



and to it they ga . mula I. 



v 



KO - X = 1 1 



Hi 



They state that >>n treatment with the calculated amount of acid this com- 

 pound yields the corresponding " nitio-ester acid " 



I D M 'H. 



The latter describe as a feeble acid, stable in aqueous 



- Qtion, but Dg nitrous acid when boiled with dilute - and 



forming n-trinir : ited 

 id. 



tssium methi trinitro- 



ben . I l>c 



