XXI.—On the Compounds of Ethyl-, Propyl-, Butyl-, and Amyl- Thetines

Abstract

Compounds of Ethyl-Thetine.—In the course of the investigations, the results of which are recorded in the preceding paper, Professor Crum Brown and I observed that sulphide of ethyl, like sulphide of methyl, forms a crystalline compound with bromacetic acid. This we called hydrobromate of diethylthetine, in conformity with the system of nomenclature we had proposed for such bodies—Owing, however, to the extremely deliquescent nature of the substance, we did not at the time subject it to a closer examination, but devoted our attention to the methyl compound and its derivatives. The following are the results of an examination which I have since made of the hydrobromate of diethyl-thetine and its derivatives: —Hydrobromate of Diethyl-Thetine.—50 grms. of sulphide of ethyl and 70 grms. of bromacetic acid were shaken together. The acid slowly dissolved, occasioning a fall of temperature in so doing from 20–14°. After about half an hour's standing, the mixture grew warm, and deposited a slightly brown, oily liquid. The reaction was very much less intense than in the case of the methyl compound, when the sulphide of methyl actually boils and the mixture has to be cooled to prevent loss of product.