Organic reagents for the precipitation of nitrate ion. Part II. Di(naphthylmethyl)amines and some derivatives of 2-naphthylmethylamine

Abstract

The behaviour of the three isomeric di-(naphthylmethyl)amines has been investigated with respect to their salt-forming properties. All three amines have very sparingly soluble nitrates and exhibit highly sensitive precipitation reactions with aqueous solutions of the nitrate ion. None of the reagents is particularly selective, but all have potential applications in the determination of amounts of nitrate not exceeding 10 mg. This study, combined with an examination of two N-benzyl-2-naphthylmethylamines, has shown that the orientation of the naphthalene nucleus in these N-substituted naphthylmethylamines has no profound effect on the nitrate-precipitating properties of these amines, although an α-naphthyl-substitution is preferred for one of the groups in the structure, R¹-CH₂·NH·CH₂–R².