The structure of Wieland and Rheinheimer's “phenarsazine” has been reinvestigated. The proposed aromatic structure 3 is not correct, spectral and chemical evidence showing that this compound is 10, 10′-bis (5, 10-dihydrophenarsazinyl) 16. An attempt to synthesize phenarsazine 3 by base-induced hydrogen chloride elimination was unsuccessful. However, mass spectroscopic evidence indicates that phenarsazine is formed by thermal ...
