Abstract
SINCE the introduction of periodic acid as a reagent for glycols1, it has been widely employed for elucidating the constitution of many organic compounds2. In recent years valuable information has been obtained in the study of polysaccharides by oxidation with periodic acid3. Under suitable conditions, one molecule of formic acid is liberated from a non-reducing end-group, and two from a reducing end-group4. Determination of the formic acid set free may give an idea of the chain-length of a poly-saccharide, while the consumption of periodate per repeating unit is useful in locating the position of hydroxyl groups therein. It is therefore necessary to know whether or not formic acid itself is attacked by the reagent under experimental conditions.
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SARKAR, P. Decomposition of Formic Acid by Periodate. Nature 168, 122–123 (1951). https://doi.org/10.1038/168122b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/168122b0
