Studies in the polarographic and coulometric behaviour of aromatic nitro compounds—III. nitrosobenzene in ethanol, acetone and dioxan

The green nitrosobenzene monomer is reduced polarographically to phenylhydroxylamine in the pH range 4—9. Though this reduction is known to be a two-electron process, coulometry invariably gives a lower value of n because of the reaction of unreacted nitrosobenzene and the phenylhydroxylamine formed. The green monomer is attacked by mercury in acid medium. In alkaline medium, the green monomer undergoes a change that follows first-order kinetics with respect to nitrosobenzene. The rate of the transformation depends on the solvent. It decreases in the order acetone > ethanol > dioxan.