THE JOURNAL OF
P H Y S I C A L CHEMISTRY (Registered in U. S. Patent Office) (Copyright, 1953, by the American Chemical Society)
Foitnded by Wilder VOLUME57
D. Bancroft
JUNE 30, 1953
NUMBER 6
SYRIPOSIUM O N LIQUID AMMONIA CHEMISTRY. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS BY JACOBKLEINBERG Department of Chemistry, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas Received November 68,1966
The last symposium dealing with liquid ammonia monia and particularly with the nature of the chemistry was held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in anode reactions. Scott reports the reactions of the September, 1938. Three papers were presented at unstable light metal carbonyls, which are prepared that meeting. The current symposium consists of in liquid ammonia, with a variety of protoneight papers on a wide variety of physical and donating reagents. A paper by Laitinen and inorganic aspects of the subject. Only the time McElroy extends previous work on polarography in limitation set by the Division has kept the con- liquid ammonia and reports the characteristics of tributions to this number, for there are at least a the reduction of several other ions at the dropping dozen laboratories over the country where these mercury electrode. A continuation of the pioneer aspects of liquid ammonia chemistry are being work of Watt and co-workers on potentiometric vigorously and intelligently investigated. titrations with potassium in liquid ammonia deIn the opening paper Hutchison discusses the scribes experiments with metal ions of the alumiparamagnetic absorption resonance in liquid am- num family. The three distinct “end-points” obmonia solutions of the alkali metals. This report tained in the titrati’on of aluminum(II1) iodide are is the first one concerned with the direct observa- tentatively interpreted as evidence for the existtion of the unpaired electrons in the alkali metal ence of lower oxidation states of aluminum in liquid solutions and constitutes an important contribution ammonia, although other explanations are not exto the elucidation of the nature of such solutions. cluded. The final paper by Davidson and Kleinberg The paper by Coulter on the thermochemistry of emphasizes the usefulness of liquid ammonia as a the alkali and alkaline earth metals and their medium for the preparation of compounds containhalides in ammonia provides data useful in the ing elements in unfamiliar oxidation states. interpretation of inorganic chemistry in this solvent. It is fitting that this symposium be dedicated to Ogg discusses the mechanism of amide formation Professor Charles A. Kraus, the only surviving in liquid ammonia solutions of alkali metals and member of the triumvirate of Cady, Franklin and also offers experimental evidence for the formation Kraus, the pioneers of liquid ammonia research in of atomic hydrogen as a transient intermediate in this country. It is primarily due to the investigathe reaction of such solutions with dissolved am- tions of these men and the inspiration they gave to monium salts. The contribution by Evers and succeeding workers that liquid ammonia has been Finn deals with the electrolysis of alkali metal di- the non-aqueous solvent most thoroughly studied phosphides and dihydrophosphides in liquid am- by the physical and the inorganic chemist. 545
