The color varies so much im convinced that the color is nothing more then a trace contaminate that is producing a form of defraction or more importantly and likely a form of fluorescents meaning the color is determined by the form of light it is viewed in.

I say no matter what you will see each variation beit green or yellow no matter what acid you used to produce the final product.


Anyone here well versed in fluorescents to offer up an explination as to what by product is forming this. Green to yellow is a variation in the electron shells ability to absorb and emit light. I suggest the most likely case is nothing more then the fluorescents being caused by ring cleavage.

LL, how were your yields with HCl? Mine are 5-10% higher consistently compared to H2SO4.  The orangish color perhaps comes from some dimer product not formed with H2SO4.  After running a single spot sample of MDP2P on a silica column the purified compound retained its original color.  HLPC showed only one contaminant (it looked like a solvent).  MDP2P definitely has color on its own.

I don't think fluorescence is the right term here.  MDP2P doesn't "fluoresce" under visible light any more than a red can of coke fluoresces.  Anyway, yes the colored fraction was MDP2P.

Pihkal, MDMA, 109, page 320.

To a well stirred solution of 34 g of 30% hydrogen peroxide in 150 g 80% formic acid there was added, dropwise, a solution of 32.4 g isosafrole in 120 mL acetone at a
rate that kept the reaction mixture from exceeding 40 °C. This required a bit over 1 h, and external cooling was used as necessary. Stirring was continued for 16 h, and care
was taken that the slow exothermic reaction did not cause excess heating. An external bath with running water worked well. During this time the solution progressed from an
orange color to a deep red. All volatile components were removed under vacuum which yielded some 60 g of a very deep red residue. This was dissolved  in 60 mL of MeOH,
treated with 360 mL of 15% H2SO4, and heated for 3 h on the steam bath. After cooling, the reaction mixture was extracted with 3×75 mL Et2O, the pooled extracts washed first with H2O and then with dilute NaOH, and the  solvent removed under vacuum The residue was distilled (at 2.0 mm/108-112 °C, or at about 160 °C at the water pump) to
provide 20.6 g of 3,4-methylenedioxyphenylacetone as a pale yellow oil. The oxime (from hydroxylamine) had a mp of 85-88 °C. The semicarbazone had a mp of 162-163 °C.

have you distilled your ketone? I agree that colour isnt always the best indicator, trace impurities as mentioned can cause different colourations.

If you have distilled your ketone, you can test it with the age old method of creating the bisulfite adduct.