Mercury compounds of hydroxybenzaldehydes / by Thomas Anderson and Thomas Marvel Sharp.

  • Thomas Anderson Henry
Date:
[1922.]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Mercury compounds of hydroxybenzaldehydes / by Thomas Anderson and Thomas Marvel Sharp. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    CXXVIII.—Mercury Compounds of Hydroxybenz- aldehydes. By Thomas Anderson Henry and Thomas Marvel Sharp. When a solution of one of the three hydroxybenzaldehydes is boiled with mercuric acetate, mercury compounds are formed in which either one or two mercuric acetate residues, ’Hg*OAc, become attached to carbon atoms in the ring. The entry of these residues appears to be facilitated by the presence of the hydroxyl group, since benzaldehyde on similar treatment reduces the mercuric salt, the only crystalline substance so far isolated being mercurous acetate. Further, of the large number of organic compounds of mercury known none is derived from aromatic aldehydes except that recently prepared from vanillin by Paolini (Gazzetia, 1921, [ii], 51, 188). In the present paper, it is shown that with salicylaldehyde mercuric acetate residues are introduced at positions 3 and 5; w ith p-hydroxybenzaldehyde substitution presumably occurs at the same positions, but further action takes place between one of the •Hg’OAc residues and the neighbouring hydroxyl group, with the loss of a molecule of acetic acid and the formation of the anhydro- substance represented by formula I. CHO (!•) Hg-OAc This, on boiling with acetic acid, regenerates t lie normal 3:5- diacetoxydimercuri - 4 - hydroxybcnzaldehydc. With m - hydroxy-