248 Proceedings of Boyal Society of Edinhurgli. [sess. 
method was not directly applicable to unsaturated acids of the fatty 
series. Similarly, ethyl-potassium phthalate gave no ethereal pro- 
ducts on electrolysis. 
The same was the case with ethyl- potassium tartrate and with 
ethyl-potassium dibromosuccinate, which gave large quantities of 
free bromine at the anode. So far, therefore, the method seems 
to be restricted to saturated fatty dibasic acids. The authors are 
not without hopes of discovering means of making it applicable to 
hydroxy-acids. 
Behaviour of Oxalic Acid. — Ethyl-potassium oxalate, prepared by 
Claisen’s method,* which gave most satisfactory results, was sub- 
mitted to electrolysis, in order to see if the general equation applies 
in this case, where E" = 0. If it were so, oxalic ether would be 
formed : 
2C2H500C-C00- = C2H500C-C00C2H5 -i- 2CO2. 
The result showed that the reaction does not take this course, but 
that the anion is oxidised to carbonic acid, water and ethylene. 
As Claisen has suggested that perhaps his method of preparing 
ethyl-potassium oxalate might be applicable to other dibasic acids, 
experiments were made with succinic ether and with some of the 
alkylmalonic ethers. The result with these ethers was that, where 
the ether was attacked at all, the dipotassium salt was formed. 
Behaviour of Camphoric Acid . — Camphoric acid was found to 
behave exactly like a saturated dibasic fatty acid, ethyl-potassium 
camphorate giving on electrolysis large quantities of ethereal pro- 
ducts. These are now being examined. 
* Berichte der deutschen chemischen Gessellschaft 24 , 127 . 
