Potassium solvents

CH3)2N]3P0. M.p. 4°C, b.p. 232"C, dielectric constant 30 at 25 C. Can be prepared from dimethylamine and phosphorus oxychloride. Used as an aprotic solvent, similar to liquid ammonia in solvent power but easier to handle. Solvent for organolithium compounds, Grignard reagents and the metals lithium, sodium and potassium (the latter metals give blue solutions). 

Liquid sulphur dioxide is a solvent for a number of substances, for example iodine, sulphur, some sulphites, potassium iodide and sulphur dichloride oxide, SOClj (see below). The liquid can be assumed to ionise slightly, thus ... 

A) Extract the mixture with about 40 ml. of chloroform, in which the free base is very soluble. Run off the lower chloroform layer, dry it with potassium carbonate as in (a), and then add carbon tetrachloride slowly with stirring to the filtered chloroform solution until the base starts to crystallise out. Allow to stand for a short time (t.e., until the deposition of crystals ceases) and then filter at the pump as the crystals lose the last trace of solvent, they tend as before to break up into a fine powder, the deep green colour becoming paler in consequence. 

Mono-alkyl ethers of ethylene glycol, ROCHjCHjOH. The mono methyl, ethyl and n-butyl ethers are inexpensive and are known as methyl cellosolve, cellosolve, and butyl cellosolve respectively. They are completely miscible with water, and are excellent solvents. The commercial products are purified by drying over anhydrous potassium carbonate or anhydrous calcium sulphate, followed by fractionation after... 

Alkyl fluorides may be prepared in moderate yield by interaction of an alkyl bromide with anhydrous potassium fluoride in the presence of dry ethylene glycol as a solvent for the inorganic fluoride, for example ... 

Redistil laboratory grade ethylene glycol under reduced pressure and collect the fraction of b.p. 85-90°/7 mm. for use as a solvent for the potassium fluoride. 

CAUTION. Ethers that have been stored for long periods, particularly in partly-filled bottles, frequently contain small quantities of highly explosive peroxides. The presence of peroxides may be detected either by the per-chromic acid test of qualitative inorganic analysis (addition of an acidified solution of potassium dichromate) or by the liberation of iodine from acidified potassium iodide solution (compare Section 11,47,7). The peroxides are nonvolatile and may accumulate in the flask during the distillation of the ether the residue is explosive and may detonate, when distilled, with sufficient violence to shatter the apparatus and cause serious personal injury. If peroxides are found, they must first be removed by treatment with acidified ferrous sulphate solution (Section 11,47,7) or with sodium sulphite solution or with stannous chloride solution (Section VI, 12). The common extraction solvents diethyl ether and di-tso-propyl ether are particularly prone to the formation of peroxides. 

Suspend in a round-bottomed flask 1 g. of the substance in 75-80 ml. of boihng water to which about 0 -5 g. of sodium carbonate crystals have been added, and introduce slowly 4 g. of finely-powdered potassium permanganate. Heat under reflux until the purple colour of the permanganate has disappeared (1-4 hours). Allow the mixture to cool and carefully acidify with dilute sulphuric acid. Heat the mixture under reflux for a further 30 minutes and then cool. Remove any excess of manganese dioxide by the addition of a little sodium bisulphite. Filter the precipitated acid and recrystallise it from a suitable solvent (e.g., benzene, alcohol, dilute alcohol or water). If the acid does not separate from the solution, extract it with ether, benzene or carbon tetrachloride. 

Benzylatnine. Warm an alcoholic suspension of 118-5 g. of finely-powdered benzyl phthalimide with 25 g. of 100 per cent, hydrazine hydrate (CAUTION corrosive liquid) a white, gelatinous precipitate is produced rapidly. Decompose the latter (when its formation appears complete) by heating with excess of hydrochloric acid on a steam bath. Collect the phthalyl hydrazide which separates by suction filtration, and wash it with a little water. Concentrate the filtrate by distillation to remove alcohol, cool, filter from the small amount of precipitated phthalyl hydrazide, render alkaline with excess of sodium hydroxide solution, and extract the liberated benzylamine with ether. Dry the ethereal solution with potassium hydroxide pellets, remove the solvent (compare Fig. //, 13, 4) on a water bath and finally distil the residue. Collect the benzylamine at 185-187° the 3ueld is 50 g. 

The experimental details for mono-M-propylanillne are as follows. Reflux a mixture of 230 g. of aniline and 123 g. of n-propyl bromide for 8-10 hours. Allow to cool, render the mixture alkafine, and add a solution of 150 g. of zinc chloride in 150 g. of water. Cool the mixture and stir after 12 hours, filter at the pump and drain well. Extract the thick paste several times with boiling light petroleum, b.p. 60-80° (it is best to use a Soxhlet apparatus), wash the combined extracts successively with water and dilute ammonia solution, and then dry over anhydrous potassium carbonate or anhydrous magnesium sulphate. Remove the solvent on a water bath, and distil the residue from a Claisen flask with fractionating side arm (well lagged). Collect the n-propyl-aniline at 218-220° the yield is 80 g. Treat the pasty solid zincichloride with an excess of. sodium hydroxide solution and steam distil 130 g. of pure aniline are recovered. 

No cresol is obtained if sodium hydroxide alone is used, presumably because the fused sodium hydroxide has no solvent action upon the sodium p-toluene-sulphonate. Potassium hydroxide alone gives excellent results, as do also mixtures of Sodium and potassium hydroxide containing not less than 28 per cent, of potassium hydroxide. The experimental details utilise the minimum amount of potassium hydroxide for the salce of economy. 

Phenylbenzoyldiazomethane may be prepared by the oxidation of benzil-monohydrazone with mercuric oxide in the presence of dry etber as a solvent Tbe addition of a little alcoholic potassium hydroxide serves to catalyse the reaction ... 

Hydrolysis of a sulphonamide. Mix 2 g. of the sulphonamide with 3-5 ml. of 80 per cent, sulphuric acid in a test-tube and place a thermometer in the mixture. Heat the test-tube, with frequent stirring by means of the thermometer, at 155-165° until the solid passes into solution (2-5 minutes). Allow the acid solution to cool and pour it into 25-30 ml. of water. Render the resulting solution alkaline with 20 per cent, sodium hydroxide solution in order to liberate the free amine. Two methods may be used for isolating the base. If the amine is volatile in steam, distil the alkaline solution and collect about 20 ml. of distillate extract the amine with ether, dry the ethereal solution with anhydrous potassium carbonate and distil off the solvent. If the amine is not appreciably steam-volatile, extract it from the alkaline solution with ether. The sulphonic acid (as sodium salt) in the residual solution may be identified as detailed under 13. 

Potassium nitrate anticatalysed nitration in nitric acid (the solutions used also contained 2-5 mol 1 of water) but the effect was small in comparison with the corresponding effect in nitration in organic solvents ( 3.2.3 4), for the rate was only halved by the addition of 0-31 mol 1 of the salt. As in the case of the addition of sulphuric acid, the effect was not linear in the concentration of the additive, and the variation of k j with [KNOgj/mol 1 " was similar to that of with [H2SO4]/ mol 1. ... 

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