112. The retardation of chemical reactions. Part VIII. The darkening of alkaline solutions of sodium salicylate

The Oxidation of Salicylates in Alkaline Solutions**Presented before the Scientific Section, A. Ph. A., Atlanta meeting, 1939.††Abstracted from the dissertation submitted by Dr. Brecht to the Graduate Faculty of the University of Minnesota in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

“…Numerous past studies of this reaction have been concerned only with the rate of discoloration and the influencing factors (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13). Salicylate solutions, which are colorless when freshly prepared, are rapidly discolored by the formation of a brown oxidation product resulting from the activity of atmospheric oxygen.…”

“…A few oxidation reactions of salicylates have been characterized, but none of the products was similar to that from aged, brown salicylate solutions (14)(15)(16)(17). Solutions of gentisic acid rapidly turned brown when exposed to air (13). Gentisic acid was obtained as a colorless compound.…”