The chemistry of hydrazine

HYDRAZINE has for many years been considered a specialty chemical, available only in aqueous solution and in the form of a few common salts. It was first isolated by Curtius in 1887 ( 1 ). Organic hydrazine derivatives had, however, been prepared some years before by Emil Fischer ( 2 ) and their utility in a variety of organic syntheses demonstrated. Since that time, hydrazine and its compounds have been subjected to a considerable amount of study, with the result that a substantial literature has been developed and that many of the basic facts concerning the parent substance and its compounds are well known. The simple salts of hydrazine, as well as the anhydrous base and its water solution, have found little direct application because of the difficulties in synthesizing the parent substance. Organic derivatives of hydrazine, such as the aryl hydrazines, are somewhat more easily prepared and, therefore, used more widely. This is also true to a lesser ...