Identification of Carboxylic Acids as the Salts of Benzylamine

Molecular compounds have become of increasing interest in organic chemistry since they furnish a valuable group of derivatives for the identification of certain classes of organic compounds, notably, the aromatic hydrocarbons, the amines, and the phenols. In the identification of such compounds it should be pointed out, as Kamm has stated, that the reactions used in the identification of inorganic compounds, namely, color tests, precipitation of an insoluble compound, and decomposition with certain reagents, can be used merely as indications, not as final tests of identification. In identifying any single chemical individual Wise pointed out that it often becomes necessary to prepare a derivative which may be readily isolated and purified. The physical constants of such a derivative will serve as a definite means of identification since the physical properties of a compound are a function of the structure of that compound. Hence it is of interest to prepare molecular compounds and to determine the physical constants of these derivatives.