W. G. Mixter — On Electrosynthesis. 51 



Art. VIII. — On Electrosynthesis ; by W. G. Mixter. 



[Contributions from the Sheffield Laboratory of Yale University.] 



The action of the electric current on compounds, as is well 

 known, usually decomposes them whether they are in solution, 

 in the molten or gaseous state. As an example of the last we 

 have the electrolysis of steam* with the separation of hydrogen 

 and oxygen equal to the volume of these gases evolved by the 

 same current through dilute sulphuric acid that passes in sparks 

 through the steam. The heat of the sparks also decomposes 

 the steam, but this has not prevented the determination of the 

 electrolytic results. Some physicists consider that the mole- 

 cules of simple as well as compound gases are decomposed by 

 the electrical discharge and that free atoms, or ions, carry the 

 electricity. If this is true, then the primary effect of electricity 

 may be solely electrolytic and the synthetic results may be due 

 to combinations of free ions. Without discussing this now, let 

 it be understood that the term electrosynthesis is applied in 

 this paper to chemical union effected by means of electricity, 

 not, however, by the heat of the discharge. Ammonia, nitric 

 acid, and a few other compounds have been produced in small 

 quantities by the action of electricity, and recently Losanitsch 

 and Jovitschitschf have made an important addition to our 

 knowledge of electrosynthesis. Their results may be indicated 

 by the equations H 2 6 + CO=HCOOH, C0 2 +H 2 = HCOOH 

 + 0, CO+H 2 =CH 2 0, C0 2 +H 2 =HCOOH, CO + CH 4 =CH 3 

 CHO. They state that the dark discharge (dunkle Entladung) 

 effects synthesis only, but my observations are that a 'feeble 

 glow visible only in a dark room causes decomposition as well 

 as combination. 



Early last year I observed that feeble sparks in an ozonizing 

 tube with an inner conducting wire did not cause an explosion 

 of acetylene gas under a pressure at which it exploded promptly 

 when the ordinary spark was passed through it. This led to 

 experiments with various forms of electrical discharge in a 

 mixture of two volumes of hydrogen and one of oxygen. It 

 was found that such a mixture at a pressure of 235 mm was not 

 exploded in an ozonizing tube, by sparks visible in daylight 

 and giving a distinct snapping noise. The combination was 

 slow. At the pressure given the mixed gases are exploded by 

 the ordinary electric spark, while, as is known, they do not 



* J. J. Thomson : Recent Researches in Electricity and Magnetism, pp. 181 and 

 559. 



f Ueber chemische Synthesen mittels der dunkler elektrischen Entladung, Ber. 

 d. deutscb. chem. Gesellsch., xxx, 135. 



