Chemical Properties
white to almost white fine crystalline powder
Uses
1,2-Diformylhydrazine as a bidentate ligand forms 1:1 metal to ligand complexes with transition metals Mn, Zn and Ni. It combines with iron (II) and iron(III) in alkaline conditions to a complex of an intense red-purple color making it a useful reagent in spectrophotometric analysis of iron(II) and iron(III). It was observed that mice were more likely to develop lung tumor when administered 1,2-Diformylhydrazine as a 2% solution.
Synthesis
The general procedure for the synthesis of dimethylhydrazine from ethyl formate is as follows: hydrazine monohydrate (10.5 g, 0.21 mol) was mixed with ethyl formate (31.2 g, 0.42 mol) and reacted for 48 hours at 0 °C. After completion of the reaction, the crystals formed were collected by filtration to give dimethylhydrazine (36.54 g, 99% yield) with a melting point of 155-156°C.
References
[1] Mendeleev Communications, 2015, vol. 25, # 5, p. 395 - 396
[2] Journal fuer Praktische Chemie (Leipzig), 1895, vol. <2> 51, p. 182
