GAY-LUSSAC, (JOSEPH). - THE FIRST IDENTIFICATION OF AN ORGANIC RADICAL

Recherches Sur l'acide prussique; Presentées à l'Institut, le 18 septembre 1815.

Paris, Chez Crochard, 1815 Contemp. hcalf. Spine gilt. Top of spine with wear. A few scratches to binding. In: "Annales de Chimie, ou Recueil de Mémoires concernant la Chemie" Tome 95. - 336 pp. (the entire volume offered). Gay-Lussac's paper: pp. 136-231. Some scattered brownspots throughout.

First appearance of this milestone paper in organic chemistry, in which Gay-Lussac describes the preparation, the chemical reactions, and the determination of the physical properties of prussic acid.

"One of the most importent contributions of Gay-Lussac was his work on hydro-cyanid acid and its compounds. In the course of his investigations on the combining volumes of gases he had prepared gaseous hydrogen cyanide. This led him to the study of related compounds, and in 1815 he published a paper, "Recherches sur l'acide prussique" (the paper offered), wherein he announced the discovery of cyanogen and chlor-cyanogen and the composition of hydrocyanic acid. His demonstartion that hydrogen cyanide contains no oxygen added another oxygen-free acid to those already known (hydrogen halides and sulfide) and contributed to the overthrow of Lavoisier's oxygen theory of acids. Gay-Lussac found that the cyano radical,the first orgianic radical clearly recognized, could act as an element analogous to chlorine, passing unchanged through various reactions. This concept of an organic radical was importent to organic chemistry."(Leicester & Klickstein "A Source Book of Chemistry", p. 293). - Partington IV, p.85 a. p. 253. - Roy G. Neville, p. 505. - Parkinson "Breakthroughs", 1815 C.

Order-nr.: 43079