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Sodium phenyl carbonate is now prepared by the dry process, 
namely, by passing dry carbon dioxide over dry sodium phenate,* 
whereas ethyl carbonate is prepared by, the moist process. Dr. Moll 
van Char ante having made unsuccessful experiments to prepare 
sodium phenyl carbonate by the moist process, I tried to prepare 
sodium ethyl carbonate by the dry method, in order to avoid the 
objection that the difference in properties between sodium phenyl 
carbonate and sodium ethyl carbonate might be due to the different 
method of preparation. 
I ( succeeded in finding the conditions in which dry, alcohol-free 
sodium ethoxide gives with dry carbon dioxide a product which 
agrees in composition and properties with that prepared according to 
Beilstein’s method. 
It did not yi,eld carbon dioxide on heating, or on treatment 
with acetone, but was decomposed by water into alcohol and acid 
carbonate. 
The different behaviour of sodium phenjl- and sodium ethyl- 
carbonate is, therefore, not due to the different manner of formation, 
but to the difference between alkyl and phenyl, or to a difference 
in the action of carbon dioxide on sodium phenyl- and ethyl-carbo¬ 
nate. These experiments, which I had made three years ago, have 
been recently repeated and extended at my instigation by Dr. Dubsky 
who prepared also in both ways sodium methyl carbonate which 
hitherto had never been made. 
Not only were all my results with sodium ethyl carbonate 
confirmed, but 1 it was also shown that sodium methyl carbonate 
behaves entirely .like its homologue towards water, acetone and 
heat. As, however, it was shown, during the research that the 
acetone should be dried by shaking with phosphorus pentoxide and 
subsequent distillation, which was not done in Moll van Charante’s 
experiments, we have repeated with his co-operation the experiment 
with sodium phenyl carbonate and acetone, and although we dare 
not pretend with absolute certainty that sodium phenyl carbonate is 
not affected by dry acetone, a powerful decomposition with evolution 
of carbon dioxide, as noticed by him, was not observed by us. 
In the case of sodium methyl- and ethyl carbonate the product, 
after having been treated with acetone, was analysed and investigated 
and showed no difference from the original. 
