The Mechanism of Some Important Organic Reactions.

The Yellowing of Cotton Cellulose

“…A yield of 1.2 moles of lactic acid (60°Jo yield) has been obtained from glucose upon treatment with benzyl-trimethyl-ammonium hydroxide [ 14,37,41 ] . The formation of the glyceraldehyde in the alkaline solution is explained by the weakening of the C1-C~ bond in the C.-C2 enediol formed from glucose in alkali, which then undergoes the C,-Ct cleavage [ 51 ] .…”

Conversion of Hydrocarbons into Butadiene.

“…Schmidt has formulated a double-bond rule, maintaining that the double bond between two carbon atoms strengthens the adjacent single bonds and weakens the next following (139). The mechanism of bond scission was later considered from the electronic standpoint (140). Cracking of alkanes was explained in the following way (140):…”

“…The mechanism of bond scission was later considered from the electronic standpoint (140). Cracking of alkanes was explained in the following way (140):…”

“…Schmidt considers the mechanism of butadiene formation from cyclohexane to be the following (140): "There is no doubt that by cracking cycloparaffins, such as cyclohexane, the greater part of the molecule is first dehydrogenated to tetrahydrobenzene and then split into two fragments, butadiene and ethylene, as I have shown (139). Therefore the series of reactions with primary dehydrogenation and scission on the weak positions 3 and 3' is experimentally well founded.…”

Some Less Familiar Aspects of Carbohydrate Chemistry.

“…Hence, the fragmentation cannot take place as indicated. Furthermore, the work of Schmidt (43,53) and others clearly shows that the formation of the double bond in a compound weakens the single bond of It is conceivable that the enediols of glyceraldehyde, erythrose, and arabinose may rearrange to the normal form and that in the cases of erythrose and arabinose these normal forms may undergo a different enolization and subsequent fragmentation. It is also clear that D-arabinose 2,3-enediol in equation 3' may undergo fragmentation into formaldehyde and erythrose 2,3-enediol before any rearrangement takes place to the normal form.…”