Am.  Jour.  Pharm. ") 
May,  1882.  / 
Chemical  Notes. 
215 
3.  In  one  case  only  is  the  oxidizing  action  of  hydrogenized  palla- 
dium in  the  presence  of  water  and  oxygen  different  from  that  of 
hydrogen  peroxide.  While  hydrogen  peroxide  does  not  turn  a  mix- 
ture of  potassium  iodide  and  starch  blue,  hydrogenized  palladium  and 
oxygen  bring  about  a  rapid  change  to  blue  color.  This  is  because  the 
palladium  in  this  case  brings  about  a  transfer  of  the  oxygen  from  the 
hydrogen  peroxide  to  the  potassium  iodide. 
4.  Contrary  to  the  views  of  Hoppe-Seyler,  I  have  found  that  nas- 
cent hyrogen  is  not  able  to  develop  active  oxygen  by  splitting  the  oxy- 
gen molecule. 
5.  The  common  development  of  hydrogen  peroxide  in  oxidation 
processes  is  no  proof  of  the  simultaneous  presence  of  the  active  oxy- 
gen atom,  as  the  peroxide  is  never  formed  by  the  oxidation  of  water, 
by  means  of  an  active  oxygen  atom,  as  has  been  hitherto  assumed.  In 
every  oxidation  process  it  results  as  a  consequence  of  a  reduction. 
If,  for  instance,  zinc  be  shaken  up  with  water  and  oxygen,  we 
obtain,  as  is  known,  along  with  zinc  hydrate,  hydrogen  peroxide. 
My  experiments  show,  however,  that  in  this  case  there  is  no  active 
oxygen  formed,  and  that  the  molecule  of  oxygen  is  not  split  at  all, 
but  rather  the  molecule  of  water,  the  oxygen  of  which  unites  with  the 
zinc  to  form  zinc  hydrate,  while  the  hydrogen  of  the  water  unites  with 
an  oxygen  molecule  to  form  hydrogen  peroxide,  as  follows : 
Zn  +  2H2O  +  O2  =  Zn(0H)2  +  O  —  H 
I 
O  — H 
Hydrogen  peroxide  is,  according  to  this  view,  a  compound  of  an 
oxygen  molecule  with  two  atoms  of  hydrogen.  It  may  be  termed,  if 
we  take  the  analogy  of  other  compounds  formed  by  the  taking  up  of 
hydrogen,  reduced  oxygen,  and  has  the  same  relation  to  ordinary  gas- 
eous oxygen  that  indigo-white  has  to  indigo-blue. — Ber.  Oiem.  Ges., 
XV,  p.  22. 
Organic  Chemistry. — On  the  Deodorizing  of  Bad-Smelling  Alco- 
hols by  Electrolysis. — Daudin  has  observed  that  the  unsaturated  alde- 
hydes, which  give  sharp  and  unpleasant  taste  to  alcohols,  particularly 
butyl-  and  amyl-aldehyde,  are  changed  into  saturated  compounds 
(alcohols)  by  electrolytic  hydrogen  developed  in  the  liquid.  The 
amount  of  alcohol  of  good  taste,  too,  that  can  be  gotten  from  a  sam- 
ple is  i^ncreased  from  25  to  30  per  cent.  For  this  hydrogenation  they 
use  a  copper-zinc  couple  as  prepared  by  Gladstone  and  Tribe.  For 
