Potassium chloride, reaction + alkali atoms

This reaction is also used to characterise organic bases and to identify through a melting-point determination small amounts, particularly of the liquid bases, by converting them into their usually crystalline acyl derivatives. In order to cause the whole of the base to react—one mole is fixed by the hydrochloric acid liberated—alkali or carbonate is added when aqueous solutions or suspensions are used and dry potassium carbonate or pyridine when anhydrous solvents are employed. Since tertiary bases do not react with acid (acyl) chlorides, no further replaceable hydrogen atom being present, it is possible by the use of an acid chloride to determine also whether a base is, on the one hand, primary or secondary, or, on the other hand, tertiary. 

As already mentioned under acetyl chloride, add-chlorides react with alcohols, phenols, primary and secondary amines, the chlorine atom uniting with the hydrogen of the hydroxyl-, amido-, or imido-group, with the elimination of hydrochloric add, while the residues combine to form an ester or a substituted amide. The value of the Schotten-Baumann reaction depends on the fact that this reaction is so essentially facilitated by the presence of sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide- that even in the presence of water the decomposition takes place, which in the absence of alkalies is not possible ... 

---