Mechanism of the Color Reaction between m-Dinitrobenzene Derivatives and Alkali Cyanide. III. : Reaction Products of 2, 4-Dinitrophenol with Potassium Cyanide

The reaction products (I, II, III and IV) were separated as their methyl ethers from the color reaction mixture of 2, 4-dinitrophenol with potassium cyanide in aqueous solution, and their chemical structures were elucidated mainly by their spectral properties. III and IV, nitro-substituted 2, 3-dihydro-3-oxo-1H-indazoles, were the main coloring matters in this reaction, and III was found to be formed through the intermediates, I and II (Chart 1). This fact confirmed the previously postulated mechanism of the color reaction between m-dinitrobenzene derivatives and alkali cyanide.