The nitroparaffins have long been recognized as pseudo acids. They dissolve in alkaline solution through the formation of salts according to the equation This neutralization is a relatively slow process and the rates of neutralization by different bases have been investigated by Maron and La Mer3 and more recently by P e a r~o n .~ In both investigations the reaction rate was followed conductometrically.De Vries and Ivett5 reported that the wave heights for the reduction of nitroparaffins were proportional to the concentration of the nitroparaffin when 0.05 mo1a.r sulfuric acid was used as the supporting electrol.yte but that this relationship was not linear when 0.05 molar sodium sulfate was used in place of sulfuric acid. When sodium sulfate was used as the supporting electrolyte the @H increased as the reduction progressed because hydrogen ions were used up in the reduction process. This increase in @H caused a shift in the equilibrium between the normal and aci-forms of the nitroparaffin in favor of the aci-form which was not reducible a t the dropping mercury cathode. As the concentration of the nitroparaffin was increased the pH became still greater resulting in still more of the aci-nitroparaffin being formed and consequently the wave height was not proportional to concentration. The nitroparaffins could not be reduced in 0.1 N sodium hydroxide or 0.1 N tetramethylammonium hydroxide. This investiga-R-CHzNOz -t OH-+ R-CH-NO2-+ Hz0(1) Presented before the Division