The tertiary glycols are known as pinacones and are formed on the reduction of ketones with sodium amalgam.
On reduction by sodium amalgam in glacial acetic acid solution they yield primary amines.
The cyanhydrin is hydrolysable to an acid, the lactone of which may be reduced by sodium amalgam to a glucoheptose, a non-fermentable sugar containing seven carbon atoms. By repeating the process a non-fermentable gluco-octose and a fermentable glucononose may be prepared.
By the action of sodium amalgam on an alcoholic solution of anthracene, an anthracene dihydride, C14H12, is obtained, whilst by the use of stronger reducing agents, such as hydriodic acid and amorphous phosphorus, hydrides of composition C14H16 and C14H24 are produced.
The distillate is freed from vanadium by digestion with sodium amalgam.
