Abstract
DUBLIN. Royal Irish Academy, June 24.—The Most Rev. J. H. Bernard, D.D., Archbishop of Dublin, president, in the cfrair.—H. Hyah and W. O'Riordan: α-, β-, and γ-trinitrotoluenes. An attempt was made to ascertain whether differences in the reactivities of the trinitrotoluenes exist which might explain the instability of trinitrotoluene in some rare cases. The behaviour of the three isomers towards alkalis, alky loxides, amines, hydrocarbons, and aldehydes was examined. All three isomers yield black, amorphous, explosive bodies when heated with alkalis. The β- and γ-isomers have each one nitro-group replaced by a hydroxyl, giving dinitrocresols. The α-isomer yields hexanitrodibenzyl. The β- and γ-isomers readily exchange a nitto-group for an amino-group, the β-isomer being apparently the more reactive. The α-isomer forms additive compounds, without substitution, by interaction with amines. The additive compounds obtained from the γ-isomer and amines readily pass into substitution derivatives. Towards hydrocarbons such as—phenarithrene- the three isomers behave similarly. While α-trinitrotoluene interacts readily with aidehydes, forming stilbene derivatives, the latter could not be obtained under similar conditions from the β- and γ-isomers.
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Societies and Academies . Nature 101, 459–460 (1918). https://doi.org/10.1038/101459b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/101459b0