Reactions and characterisation of acid anhydrides aliphatic

Carry out the following simple experiments with acetic anhydride (compare Section III,89). 

Perform the followmg experiment with succinic anhydride. This illustrates the formation of an anilic acid, which is usually an excellent 

The above simple experiments illustrate the more important properties of the anhydrides of aliphatic acids. For their characterisation, the reaction with aniline or p-toluidine is frequently employed. Alternatively, the anhydride may be hydrolysed with dilute alkali as detailed under Acid Chlorides, Section 111,88, and the resulting acid characterised as in Section 111,85. 

The physical properties of a number of acid anhydrides (aliphatic) are given in Table 111,94. 

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