Sodium volatility

Sodium fluoroacetate, which is not volatile and not irritating to the skin, is used as a rodenticide. It is made from CH2ClC02Et and KF, which react to give ethyl fluoroacetate, which is then hydrolysed with NaOH in methyl alcohol. 

Brunauer and co-workers [129, 130] found values of of 1310, 1180, and 386 ergs/cm for CaO, Ca(OH)2 and tobermorite (a calcium silicate hydrate). Jura and Garland [131] reported a value of 1040 ergs/cm for magnesium oxide. Patterson and coworkers [132] used fractionated sodium chloride particles prepared by a volatilization method to find that the surface contribution to the low-temperature heat capacity varied approximately in proportion to the area determined by gas adsorption. Questions of equilibrium arise in these and adsorption studies on finely divided surfaces as discussed in Section X-3. 

Reflux Distillation Unit. The apparatus shown in Fig. 38 is a specially designed distillation-unit that can be used for boiling liquids under reflux, followed by distillation. The unit consists of a vertical water-condenser A, the top of which is fused to the side-arm condenser B. The flask C is attached by a cork to A. This apparatus is particularly suitable for the hydrolysis of esters (p. 99) and anilides (p. 109), on a small scale. For example an ester is heated under reflux with sodium hydroxide solution while water is passed through the vertical condenser water is then run out of the vertical condenser and passed through the inclined condenser. The rate of heating is increased and any volatile product will then distil over. 

Ethyl bromide soon distils over, and collects as heavy oily drops under the water in the receiving flask, evaporation of the very volatile distillate being thus prevented. If the mixture in the flask A froths badly, moderate the heating of the sand-bath. When no more oily drops of ethyl bromide come over, pour the contents of the receiving flask into a separating-funnel, and carefully run oflF the heavy lower layer of ethyl bromide. Discard the upper aqueous layer, and return the ethyl bromide to the funnel. Add an equal volume of 10% sodium carbonate solution, cork the funnel securely and shake cautiously. Owing to the presence of hydrobromic and sulphurous acids in the crude ethyl bromide, a brisk evolution of carbon dioxide occurs therefore release the... 

Lassaigne s test is obviously a test also for carbon in the presence of nitrogen. It can be used therefore to detect nitrogen in carbon-free inorganic compounds, e.g., complex nitrites, amino-sulphonic acid derivatives, etc., but such compounds must before fusion with sodium be mixed with some non-volatile nitrogen-free organic compound such as starch... 

An alternative method of working up the distillate, which has its advantages when dealing with volatile ketones or when it is suspected that conversion into the ketone is incomplete, is to treat the combined ketones with sodium hydroxide pellets until the mixture is alkaline. Should solids separate, these may be dissolved by the addition of a little water. The ketone is then separated, dried over anhydrous potassium carbonate, and fractionated. 

Mandelic acid. This preparation is an example of the synthesis of an a-hydroxy acid by the cyanohydrin method. To avoid the use of the very volatile and extremely poisonous hquid hydrogen cyanide, the cyanohydrin (mandelonitrile) is prepared by treatment of the so um bisulphite addition compound of benzaldehj de (not isolated) with sodium cyanide ... 

The quinaldine is separated from any unreacted aniline and from the alkyl-anilines by treatment with acetic anhydride, basified with sodium carbonate and steam distilled. Only the primary and secondary amines are acetylated the acetylated amines are now much less volatile so that separation from the steam-volatile quinaldine (a tertiary amine) is facile. 

Saponification of esters. Aqueous sodium hydroxide method. To hydrolyse an ester of an alcohol, reflux 5-6 g. with 50 ml. of 20 per cent, sodium hydroxide solution for 1-2 hours or until the ester layer disappears. Distil the alkahne mixture and collect about 6 ml. of distillate. This will contain any volatile alcohol formed in the saponification. If the alcohol does not separate, i.e., is water-soluble, saturate the distillate with sohd potassium carbonate an upper layer of alcohol is then usually formed. (The alcohol may be subsequently identified as the 3 5-dinitrobenzoate see Section 111,27,2.) Cool the residual alkahne mixture, and acidify it with dilute sulphuric acid. If no crystalline acid is precipitated, the acid may frequently be isolated by ether extraction, or it may be distilled from the acidified solution and isolated from (or investigated in) the distfllate. (The acid may be subsequently identified, e.g., as the S benzyl wo-thiuronium salt see Section 111,85,2.)... 

Complete hydrolysis may be efiected by boiling either with 10 per cent, sodium hydroxide solution or with 10 per cent, sulphuric acid for 1-3 hours. It is preferable to employ the non-volatile sulphuric acid for acid hydrolysis this... 

Hydrolysis of a substituted amide. A. With 10 per cent, sulphuric acid. Reflux 1 g. of the compound (e.g., acetanilide) with 20 ml. of 10 per cent, sulphuric acid for 1-2 hours. Distil the reaction mixture and collect 10 ml. of distillate this will contain any volatile organic acids which may be present. Cool the residue, render it alkaline with 20 per cent, sodium hydroxide solution, cool, and extract with ether. Distil off the ether and examine the ether-soluble residue for an amine. 

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. 

The essential basis of the scheme for the separation of water-soluble compounds is, therefore, distillation of (a) an aqueous solution of the mixture, (b) an alkaline (with sodium hydroxide) solution of the mixture, and (c) an acidic (with sulphuric oj phosphoric acid) solution of the mixture. The residue will contain the non-volatile components, which must be separated from inorganic salts and from each other by any suitable process. 

The following are examples of the above procedure. A mixture of diethylamine and re-butyl alcohol may be separated by adding sufficient dilute sulphuric acid to neutralise the base steam distillation will remove the alcohol. The amine can be recovered by adding sodium hydroxide to the residue and repeating the distillation. A mixture of diethyl ketone and acetic acid may be treated with sufficient dilute sodium hydroxide solution to transform the acid into sodium acetate and distilling the aqueous mixture. The ketone will pass over in the steam and the non-volatile, stable salt will remain in the flask. Acidification with dilute sulphuric acid hberates acetic acid, which can be isolated by steam distillation or by extraction. 

Now distil the filtrate A) and collect the distillate as long as it is acid to litmus. Should any solid separate out in the distilhng flask during the distUlation, add more water to dissolve it. Set aside the residue B) in the flask. Identify the volatile acid in the distihate. A simple method is to just neutralise it with sodium hydroxide solution, evaporate to dryness and convert the residual sodium salt into the S-benzyl-iao-thiuTonium salt (Section 111,85,5). 

The residue (5) in the distilhng flask may stUl contain a water-soluble, non-volatile acid. Cool the acid solution, neutralise it with dilute sodium hydroxide solution to Congo red, and evaporate to dryness on a water bath under reduced pressure (water pump). Heat a httle of the residual salt (G) upon the tip of a nickel spatula in a Bunsen flame and observe whether any charring takes place. If charring occurs, thus... 

The distillate may contain volatile neutral compounds as well as volatile acids and phenols. Add a slight excess of 10-20 per cent, sodium hydroxide solution to this distillate and distil until the liquid passes over clear or has the density of pure water. The presence of a volatile, water-soluble neutral compound is detected by a periodic determination of the density (see Section XI,2) if the density is definitely less than unity, the presence of a neutral compound may be assumed. Keep this solution Si) for Step 4. 

Ck)ol the alkaline solution resulting from the distillation of the volatile neutral compounds, make it acid to litmus with dilute sulphuric acid, and add an excess of solid sodium bicarbonate. Extract this bicarbonate solution with two 20 ml. portions of ether remove the ether from the combined ether extracts and identify the residual phenol (or enol). Then acidify the bicarbonate solution cautiously with dilute sulphiu-ic acid if an acidic compound separates, remove it by two extractions with 20 ml. portions of ether if the acidified solution remains clear, distil and collect any water-soluble, volatile acid in the distillate. Characterise the acid as under 2. 

Step 2. Distillation from alkaline solution. Treat the solution Bi) remaining in the distilling flask after the volatile acidic and neutral compounds have been removed with 10-20 per cent, sodium hydroxide solution until distinctly alkaline. If a solid separates, filter it off and identify it. Distil the alkaline solution until no more volatile bases pass... 

Vaseline, Castor oil, Olivo oil, Sal volatile, Boracic acid powder, Sodium bicarbonate powder, Chloramiue-T powder. Sulpha-pyridine powder, Butesin picrate ointment. 

The most stable protected alcohol derivatives are the methyl ethers. These are often employed in carbohydrate chemistry and can be made with dimethyl sulfate in the presence of aqueous sodium or barium hydroxides in DMF or DMSO. Simple ethers may be cleaved by treatment with BCI3 or BBr, but generally methyl ethers are too stable to be used for routine protection of alcohols. They are more useful as volatile derivatives in gas-chromatographic and mass-spectrometric analyses. So the most labile (trimethylsilyl ether) and the most stable (methyl ether) alcohol derivatives are useful in analysis, but in synthesis they can be used only in exceptional cases. In synthesis, easily accessible intermediates of medium stability are most helpful. 

A number of elements form volatile hydrides, as shown in the table. Some elements form very unstable hydrides, and these have too transient an existence to exist long enough for analysis. Many elements do not form stable hydrides or do not form them at all. Some elements, such as sodium or calcium, form stable but very nonvolatile solid hydrides. The volatile hydrides listed in the table are gaseous and sufficiently stable to allow analysis, particularly as the hydrides are swept into the plasma flame within a few seconds of being produced. In the flame, the hydrides are decomposed into ions of their constituent elements. 

The elements listed in the table of Figure 15.2 are of importance as environmental contaminants, and their analysis in soils, water, seawater, foodstuffs and for forensic purposes is performed routinely. For these reasons, methods have been sought to analyze samples of these elements quickly and easily without significant prepreparation. One way to unlock these elements from their compounds or salts, in which form they are usually found, is to reduce them to their volatile hydrides through the use of acid and sodium tetrahydroborate (sodium borohydride), as shown in Equation 15.1 for sodium arsenite. 

A schematic illustration of a typical inlet apparatus for separating volatile hydrides from the analyte solution, in which they are generated upon reduction with sodium tetrahydroborate. When the mixed analyte solution containing volatile hydrides enters the main part of the gas/liquid separator, the volatiles are released and mix with argon sweep and makeup gas, with which they are transported to the center of the plasma. The unwanted analyte solution drains from the end of the gas/liquid separator. The actual construction details of these gas/liquid separators can vary considerably, but all serve the same purpose. In some of them, there can be an intermediate stage for removal of air and hydrogen from the hydrides before the latter are sent to the plasma. 

Some elements (S, Se, Te, P, As, Sb, Bi, Ge, Sn, Pb) are conveniently converted into their volatile hydrides before passed into the plasma. The formation of the hydrides by use of sodium tetrahydroborate (sodium borohydride) can be batchwise or continuous. 

The concentration of aqueous solutions of the acid can be deterrnined by titration with sodium hydroxide, and the concentration of formate ion by oxidation with permanganate and back titration. Volatile impurities can be estimated by gas—Hquid chromatography. Standard analytical methods are detailed in References 37 and 38. 

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