308 M. Schoyen on the Synthesis of Butyric Acid. 



ether; when its ethereal solution is diluted with water, the gas 

 is given off with violent effervescence. It burns with a red blue- 

 edged fuliginous flame. It is tolerably soluble in crystallizable 

 acetic acid. It is dissolved by concentrated sulphuric acid ; and 

 on diluting this acid with much water, a less dense, pleasantly 

 odorous liquid is separated. It is absorbed by hydriodic acid, 

 with which it forms hydriodate of butylene. 



Butylene can be condensed to a liquid, and its boiling-point 

 is then found to be +3°, and not —8° as given in the books. 

 It combines with bromine to form bromide of butylene, C 8 H 8 Br 2 . 



In a subsequent paper the same chemist has furnished a further 

 description of the properties of hydriodate of butylene, C 8 H 8 ,HI, 

 and hydrate of butylene, C 8 H 8 , H 2 O 2 . He shows that they 

 bear the same isomeric relations to the iodide of butyle, C 8 H 9 1, 

 and butylic alcohol, C 8 H ,0 O 2 , that Wurtz found existing be- 

 tween hydriodate of amylene, C 10 H 10 , HI, and hydrate of amy- 

 lene, C 10 H 10 , H 2 2 , on the one hand, and iodide of amyle, 

 C 10 H U I, and amylic alcohol, C 10 H 12 O 2 , on the other. 



Schoyen* describes as follows the synthesis of butyric acid. 

 He first prepared ethyle gas by a modification of Frankland's 

 method. This was then mixed with the same volume of chlorine 

 and exposed to bright daylight. An action was immediately set 

 up with the formation of hydrochloric acid gas, and an oily 

 liquid which, after appropriate rectification, was found to con- 

 sist of chloride of butylene, € 4 H 8 CI 2 , along with substitution 

 products richer in chlorine and chloride of butyle, the formation 

 of which is thus expressed : — 



€ 4 H 10 + C1 2 = HC1 + € 4 H 9 C]. 

 Ethyle. Chloride of 



butyle. 



The whole of the distillate under 90°, consisting essentially of 

 this body, was enclosed in sealed tubes with acetate of potash 

 and acetic acid, and heated to 100°. Chloride of potassium 

 separated out, and a colourless oily liquid which, on rectifica- 



£M TJ9 ^| 



tion, was found to be acetate of butyle, ~ 2 „ 3a >0, containing, 



however, chlorine compounds. By treatment with baryta, this 

 acetate was decomposed for the purpose of forming butylic 

 alcohol, and then the product was oxidized with chromic acid. 

 In this way an aqueous distillate was obtained which had the 

 characteristic odour of butyric acid, the further identity of which 

 was proved by converting it into the lime and silver and mercury 

 salts. 



* Liebig's Annalen, May 1864. 



