1,2-dibromide

When exposed to sunlight, it is converted to a white insoluble resin, disacryl. Oxidized by air to propenoic acid small amounts of hy-droquinone will inhibit this. Bromine forms a dibromide which is converted by barium hydroxide into DL-fructose. The acrid odour of burning fats is due to traces of propenal. It is used in the production of methionine and in controlled polymerization reactions to give acrolein polymers. ... 

Tellurium dibromide, TeBr2, m.p. 2lO C, b.p. 339 C. Unstable compound formed Te plus TeBr4 in Et20. 

Vanadium oxide dibromide, VOBr2- Yellow powder obtained by heating VOBr3 or Br2 plus S2fir2 over healed V2OS. 

Bromine is used in the manufacture of many important organic compounds including 1,2-dibromoethane (ethylene dibromide), added to petrol to prevent lead deposition which occurs by decomposition of the anti-knock —lead tetraethyl bromomethane (methyl bromide), a fumigating agent, and several compounds used to reduce flammability of polyester plastics and epoxide resins. Silver(I) bromide is used extensively in the photographic industry... 

B) FROM i,2-DIBROI IOETH. NE. Required Powdered potassium hydroxide, 25 g. rectified spirit, 100 ml. ethylene dibromide, 15 ml. (33 g.). 

Dibromide formation. Dissolve 0 2 ml. of styrene in 0 5 ml. of CCI4 in a test-tube. Add slowly, drop by drop, a 10% solution of bromine in CCI4. Note the decolorisation of the bromine and absence of HBr fumes (therefore reaction by addition and not by substitution). Continue to add the bromine solution until a faint brown colour persists. Scratch the sides of the tube and cool it in ice-water. Filter off the crystals that separate and recrystallise the styrene dibromide from methanol m.p. 72 . 

Stilbene decolorises bromine only on heating. Proceed as above, but keep the stilbene solution hot during the addition of the CCI4 solution of bromine. Stilbene dibromide has m.p. 237 . 

DibrOmoethane dibromide. Also has a very high Constant, but sometimes causes association of the solute. It usually gh es excellent consistent results. 

Repeat the boiling point determination with the following pure liquids (a) carbon tetrachloride, A.R. (77°) (6) ethylene dibromide (132°) or chlorobenzene (132°) (c) aniline, A.R. (184-6°) and (d) nitrobenzene, A.R. (211°). An air condenser should be used for (c) and (d). Correct the observed boiling points for any appreciable deviation from the normal pressure of 760 mm. Compare the observed boiling points with the values given in parentheses and construct a calibration curve for the thermometer. Compare the latter with the curve obtained from melting point determinations (Section 111,1). 

There are no liquid alkynes whieh can be conveniently prepared by the elementary student. Some of the properties of aeetylenie hydrocarbons may be studied with the gas, aeetylene. Although the latter may be prepared in moderate 3deld by the addition of ethylene dibromide to a boiling aleoholic solution of potassium hydroxide or of sodium ethoxide,... 

Trimethylene Dibromide. In a 1-litre round-bottomed flask place 500 g. (338 ml.) of 48 per cent, hydrobromic acid and add 150 g. (82 ml.) of concentrated sulphuric acid in portions, with shaking. Then add 91 g. of trimethylene glycol (b.p. 210-215°), followed by 240 g. (130-5 ml.) of concentrated sulphuric acid slowly and with shaking. Attach a reflux condenser to the flask and reflux the mixture for 3 hours. Arrange for downward distillation and distil, using a wire gauze, until no more oily drops pass over (30—40 minutes). Purify the trimethylene dibromide... 

Allyl Bromide. Introduce into a 1-litre three-necked flask 250 g. (169 ml.) of 48 per cent, hydrobromic acid and then 75 g. (40-5 ml.) of concentrated sulphuric acid in portions, with shaking Anally add 58 g. (68 ml.) of pure allyl alcohol (Section 111,140). Fit the flask with a separatory funnel, a mechanical stirrer and an efficient condenser (preferably of the double surface type) set for downward distillation connect the flask to the condenser by a wide (6-8 mm.) bent tube. Place 75 g. (40 5 ml.) of concentrated sulphuric acid in the separatory funnel, set the stirrer in motion, and allow the acid to flow slowly into the warm solution. The allyl bromide will distil over (< 30 minutes). Wash the distillate with 5 per cent, sodium carbonate solution, followed by water, dry over anhydrous calcium chloride, and distil from a Claisen flask with a fractionating side arm or through a short column. The yield of allyl bromide, b.p. 69-72°, is 112 g. There is a small high-boiling fraction containing propylene dibromide. 

Dibromobutane (from 1 4-butanediol). Use 45 g. of redistilled 1 4-butanediol, 6-84 g. of purified red phosphorus and 80 g. (26 ml.) of bromine. Heat the glycol - phosphorus mixture to 100-150° and add the bromine slowly use the apparatus of Fig. Ill, 37, 1. Continue heating at 100-150° for 1 hour after all the bromine has been introduced. Allow to cool, dilute with water, add 100 ml. of ether, and remove the excess of red phosphorus by filtration. Separate the ethereal solution of the dibromide, wash it successively with 10 per cent, sodium thiosulphate solution and water, then dry over anhydrous potassium carbonate. Remove the ether on a water bath and distil the residue under diminished pressure. Collect the 1 4-dibromobutane at 83-84°/12 mm. the yield 3 73 g. 

Place a mixture of 0-5 g. of finely powdered thiourea, 0-5 g. of the alkyl halide and 5 ml. of alcohol in a test-tube or small flask equipped with a reflux condenser. Reflux the mixture for a j)eriod depending upon the nature of the halide primary alkyl bromides and iodides, 10-20 minutes (according to the molecular weight) secondary alkyl bromides or iodides, 2-3 hours alkyl chlorides, 3-5 hours polymethy lene dibromides or di-iodides, 20-50 minutes. Then add 0 5 g. of picric acid, boil until a clear solution is obtained, and cool. If no precipitate is obtained, add a few drops of water. RecrystaUise the resulting S-alkyl-iso-thiuronium picrate from alcohol. 

The derivatives of ethylene dibromide, propylene dibromide, trimethylene dibromide and tao-butylene dibromide melt at 260°, 232°, 229° and 223° respectively. 

Polyhydric alcohols are compounds containing two or more hydroxyl groups in the molecule. The two most important are ethylene glycol HOCHjCHjOH (a dihydric alcohol) and glycerol HOCHjCH(OH)CH. OH (a trihydric alcohol). Ethylene glycol may be obtained by the hydrolysis of ethylene dibromide or ethylene dichloride with dilute aqueous sodium hydroxide or sodium carbonate solution ... 

Glutarlc acid (n =3), pimelic acid (n = 5) and suberic acid (n = 6) may be obtained from the corresponding dibromides. These are converted by aqueous - alcoholic potas-sium or sodium cyanide into the dinitriles, and this latter are smoothly hydrolysed by 50 per cent, sulphuric acid into the dicarboxybc acids ... 

Trimethylene dibromide (Section 111,35) is easily prepared from commercial trimethj lene glycol, whilst hexamethylene dibromide (1 O dibromohexane) is obtained by the red P - Br reaction upon the glycol 1 6-hexanediol is prepared by the reduction of diethyl adipate (sodium and alcohol lithium aluminium hydride or copper-chromium oxide and hydrogen under pressure). Penta-methylene dibromide (1 5-dibromopentane) is readily produced by the red P-Brj method from the commercially available 1 5 pentanediol or tetra-hydropyran (Section 111,37). Pentamethylene dibromide is also formed by the action of phosphorus pentabromide upon benzoyl piperidine (I) (from benzoyl chloride and piperidine) ... 

Suberic acid. Prepare hexamethylene dibromide from hexamethy-lene glycol (Section 111,15) according to the procedure described in Section 111,35). Convert the 1 6-dibromohexane, b.p. H4r-115°/12 mm., into hexamethylene dicyanide, b.p. 178-180°/15 mm., by refluxing it with a 20-25 per eent. excess of aqueous - alcoholic sodium cyanide solution (compare Section 111,114), distilling off the hquid under diminished... 

Pimelic acid. This may be prepared from 1 5-peiitanediol or tetra-hydropyran, through the dibromide (Sections 111,35 and 111,37) and dinitrile exactly as described for Suberic Acid. An alternative method for the preparation of 1 5-dibromopentane, together with full details of the subsequent steps, is given in the following Section. 

Phenylpropiolic acid. This is an example of an aromatic acetylenic acid, and is made by adding bromine to the ethylenio linkage in ethyl cinnamate, and treating the resulting dibromide with alcohobc potassium hydroxide which eliminates two molecules of hydrogen bromide ... 

Trimethylene dibromide (1 mol) condenses with ethyl malonate (1 mol) in the presence of sodium ethoxide (2 mols) to form ethyl cydobutane-1 1-dksrboxylate (I). Upon hydrolysis of the latter with alcoholic potassium hydroxide, followed by acidification cyciobutane-1 1-dicarboxylic acid (II) is obtained. 

Equip a 3 litre three-necked flask with a thermometer, a mercury-sealed mechanical stirrer and a double-surface reflux condenser. It is important that all the apparatus be thoroughly dry. Place 212 g. of trimethylene dibromide (Section 111,35) and 160 g. of ethyl malonate (Section 111,153) (dried over anhydrous calcium sulphate) in the flask. By means of a separatory funnel, supported in a retort ring and fitted into the top of the condenser with a grooved cork, add with stirring a solution of 46 g. of sodium in 800 ml. of super dry ethyl alcohol (Section 11,47,5) (I) at such a rate that the temperature of the reaction mixture is maintained at 60-65° (50-60 minutes). When the addition is complete, allow the mixture to stand until the temperature falls to 50-55°, and then heat on a water bath until a few drops of the liquid when added to water are no longer alkaline to phenolphthalein (about 2 hours). Add sufficient water to dissolve the precipitate of sodium bromide, and remove the alcohol by distillation from a water bath. Arrange the flask for steam distillation (Fig. this merely involves... 

The procedure (with ethylene dibromide replacing trimethyleiie dibromide) described for cycZobutanecarboxylic acid (previous Section) does not give satisfactory results when applied to the cyclopropane analogue the yield of the cyclopropane-1 1 dicarboxylic acid is considerably lower and, furthermore, the decarboxylation of the latter gives a considerable proportion (about 30 per cent.) of butyrolactone ... 

Phenylacetylene is readily prepared by the dehydrohalogenatlon of styrene dibromide with a solution of sodamide in liquid ammonia ... 

GA UTION. Styrene dibromide is a skin irritant and all contact with It should be avoided. Rubber gloves should be used in its preparation. 

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