DE. A. W. HOFMANN ON THE PHOSPHOEHS-BASES. 
443 
chloride gives with dichloride of platinum an easily crystallizable octohedral platinum- 
salt. 
The hydrate of triethyl -ally Iphosphonium forms with hydrosulphocyanic acid a diffi- 
cultly crystallizable salt which is easily soluble in water, and differs, as might have been 
expected, entirely from the allyl-base, which has the same composition. 
behaviour of Ti'iethylphosjahine with the Sulphocyanates of Ethyl and Ethylene. 
I have in vain endeavom*ed to produce, by the action of triethylphosphine on the 
sulphocyanates of methyl, ethyl, and amyl, compound ureas analogous to the allyl- and 
phenyl-bodies. It is true that these substances act upon triethylphosphine even at ordi- 
nary temperatures ; in the case of sulphocyanate of methyl, indeed, the action is very 
brisk, but I did not succeed in obtaining definite compounds. Sulphocyanate of ethyl 
remained for months in contact with triethylphosphine without depositing any crystalline 
compound. The non-production of these ureas cannot, however, excite surprise, if we 
remember in how many respects, and especially in their relation to ammonia, the sulpho- 
cyanogen-compounds of ethyl and its homologues differ from those of allyl and phenyl. 
AMien a mixtm’e of triethylphosphine and one of the above-mentioned sulphocyanates 
is heated for some hours in a sealed tube to 100°, an abundant crop of crystals of 
sulphide of triethylphosphine is deposited from the liquid after cooling. These crystals 
are surrounded by a brown viscid substance, soluble to a certain extent in water, easily 
soluble with green colour in alcohol. In order to disentangle from this mixture the 
complementary product of the reaction, the semicrystalline mass, obtained by the action 
of sulphocyanate of ethyl, was shaken with ether to separate the sulphide, evaporated 
with an excess of hydrochloric acid, and the residue redissolved in water, when a 
quantity of the brown impurities remained insoluble. The filtered solution gave with 
trichloride of gold a dingy yellow precipitate, which by treatment with sulphuretted 
hydrogen, reprecipitation of the separated chloride by trichloride of gold, &c., ultimately 
assumed the characters of the pure gold-salt of tetrethylphosphonium. 
0-2240 grm. of gold-salt, treated with sulphuretted hydrogen, &c., gave 0-0910 grm. 
= 40-62 per cent, of gold. 
The formula 
[(C,H,)4P]C1, AUCI3 
requires 40-53 per cent, of gold. 
The chloride, prepared from the gold-salt, gave with dichloride of platinum beautiful 
octohedra of the platinum-salt of tetrethylphosphonium. 
0-6300 grm. of platinum-salt, treated with sulphuretted hydrogen, &c., gave 0-1784 
grm. =28-31 per. cent, of platinum. 
The formula 
[(C,H5),P]C1, PtCl^ 
requires 28-02 per cent, of platinum. 
The action of sulphocyanate of ethyl upon triethylphosphine may be accordingly 
3 N 2 
