Nickel ammonia

The acid dissociation constant, pA, corresponding to Eq. (35) is 9.25. As the pH is increased, Eq. (35) is shifted to the right, thus increasing the concentration of NH3 in solution, as shown in Fig. 2b, allowing the formation of nickel-ammonia complexes ... 

There are three good methods for converting the phenyiacetone to the psychedelic amphetamine. Choice number one is to use reductive amination with a hydrogenation bomb with Raney nickel, ammonia and alcohol solvent. See Journal of the American Chemical Society, Volume 70, pages 12811-12 (1948). Also see Chem. Abstracts from 1954, column 2097. This gives a yield of about 80% if plenty of Raney nickel is used. The preferred conditions for use with MDA is a temperature of 80 °C, and a hydrogen pressure of 50 atmospheres. 

The sample is reduced in a hydrogen stream at 800°C in the presence of a nickel catalyst. The ammonia formed is detected by coulometry and the test sensitivity is on the order of one part per million. 

Aqueous ammonia can also behave as a weak base giving hydroxide ions in solution. However, addition of aqueous ammonia to a solution of a cation which normally forms an insoluble hydroxide may not always precipitate the latter, because (a) the ammonia may form a complex ammine with the cation and (b) because the concentration of hydroxide ions available in aqueous ammonia may be insufficient to exceed the solubility product of the cation hydroxide. Effects (a) and (b) may operate simultaneously. The hydroxyl ion concentration of aqueous ammonia can be further reduced by the addition of ammonium chloride hence this mixture can be used to precipitate the hydroxides of, for example, aluminium and chrom-ium(III) but not nickel(II) or cobalt(II). 

Because of ammine formation, when ammonia solution is added slowly to a metal ion in solution, the hydroxide may first be precipitated and then redissolve when excess ammonia solution is added this is due to the formation of a complex ammine ion, for example with copper(II) and nickel(II) salts in aqueous solution. 

The reactions of aqueous solutions of nickel(II) salts with hydroxide ions, with excess ammonia, with sulphide ion and with dimethyl-glyoxime (see above) all provide useful tests for nickel(II) ions. 

P-Phenylethylamine is conveniently prepared by the hydrogenation under pressure of benzyl cyanide with Raney nickel catalyst (see Section VI,5) in the presence of either a saturated solution of dry ammonia in anhydrous methyl alcohol or of liquid ammonia the latter are added to suppress the formation of the secondary amine, di- P phenylethylamine ... 

Single-bond cleavage with molecular hydrogen is termed hydrogenolysis. Palladium is the best catalyst for this purpose, platinum is not useful. Desulfurizations are most efficiently per-formed with Raney nickel (with or without hydrogen G.R. Pettit, 1962 A or with alkali metals in liquid ammonia or amines. The scheme below summarizes some classes of compounds most susceptible to hydrogenolysis. 

Hydrazine Alkali metals, ammonia, chlorine, chromates and dichromates, copper salts, fluorine, hydrogen peroxide, metallic oxides, nickel, nitric acid, liquid oxygen, zinc diethyl... 

Tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol reacts with ammonia to give a variety of nitrogen containing compounds depending on the conditions employed. Over a barium hydroxide-promoted skeletal nickel—aluminum catalyst, 2-tetrahydrofurfur5iarnine [4795-29-3] is produced (113—115). With paHadium on alumina catalyst in the vapor phase (250—300°C), pyridine [110-86-1] is the principal product (116—117) pyridine also is formed using Zn and Cr based catalysts (118,119). At low pressure and 200°C over a reduced nickel catalyst, piperidine is obtained in good yield (120,121). 

Reactions with Ammonia and Amines. Acetaldehyde readily adds ammonia to form acetaldehyde—ammonia. Diethyl amine [109-87-7] is obtained when acetaldehyde is added to a saturated aqueous or alcohoHc solution of ammonia and the mixture is heated to 50—75°C in the presence of a nickel catalyst and hydrogen at 1.2 MPa (12 atm). Pyridine [110-86-1] and pyridine derivatives are made from paraldehyde and aqueous ammonia in the presence of a catalyst at elevated temperatures (62) acetaldehyde may also be used but the yields of pyridine are generally lower than when paraldehyde is the starting material. The vapor-phase reaction of formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and ammonia at 360°C over oxide catalyst was studied a 49% yield of pyridine and picolines was obtained using an activated siHca—alumina catalyst (63). Brown polymers result when acetaldehyde reacts with ammonia or amines at a pH of 6—7 and temperature of 3—25°C (64). Primary amines and acetaldehyde condense to give Schiff bases CH2CH=NR. The Schiff base reverts to the starting materials in the presence of acids. 

Nickel halide complexes with amines give mixtures of linear polymer and cychc trimers (30). Nickel chelates give up to 40% of linear polymer (31). When heated with ammonia over cadmium calcium phosphate catalysts, propargyl alcohol gives a mixture of pyridines (32). 

Manufacture and Economics. Nitrogen tritiuoride can be formed from a wide variety of chemical reactions. Only two processes have been technically and economically feasible for large-scale production the electrolysis of molten ammonium acid fluoride and the direct fluorination of the ammonia in the presence of molten ammonium fluoride. In the electrolytic process, NF is produced at the anode and H2 is produced at the cathode. In a divided cell of 4 kA having nickel anodes, extensive dilution of the gas streams with N2 was used to prevent explosive reactions between NF and H2 (17). 

Methane. The largest use of methane is for synthesis gas, a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. Synthesis gas, in turn, is the primary feed for the production of ammonia (qv) and methanol (qv). Synthesis gas is produced by steam reforming of methane over a nickel catalyst. 

Resorcinol Derivatives. Aminophenols (qv) are important intermediates for the syntheses of dyes or active molecules for agrochemistry and pharmacy. Syntheses have been described involving resorcinol reacting with amines (91). For these reactions, a number of catalysts have been used / -toluene sulfonic acid (92), zinc chloride (93), zeoHtes and clays (94), and oxides supported on siUca (95). In particular, catalysts performing the condensation of ammonia with resorcinol have been described gadolinium oxide on siUca (96), nickel, or zinc phosphates (97), and iron phosphate (98). 

Nickel and cobalt are recovered by processes that employ both pressure leaching and precipitation steps. The raw materials for these processes can be sulfide concentrates, matte, arsenide concentrates, and precipitated sulfides. Typically, acidic conditions are used for leaching however, ammonia is also effective in leach solutions because of the tendency for soluble cobalt and nickel ammines to form under the leach conditions. 

Another important example is the leaching of nickel sulfide under ammonia and oxygen pressure to form hexaammine nickel (Sherritt-Gordon process). 

The removal of copper from the pregnant nickel solution in the Sherritt-Gordon process is an example of purification by precipitation of a fairly insoluble compound. First, in the copper boil step, ammonia is driven off by heating the solution, and some copper sulfide precipitates. The residual copper is removed by a dding hydrogen sulfide for the chemical precipitation of mote copper sulfide. 

---