Has anyone come up with a simple means for the mono nitration of Acetone? This would be the holy grail of Nitroethane synthesis if it could be accomplished. Reduction of the ketone using amalgumated Zinc could in theory produce gallons of Nitroethane cheep as chips.
"25g 1-nitropropan-2-ol and 37.5g sodium dichromate are mixed in 25mL water. 35mL of 60% sulfuric acid are then slowly and periodically added to the solution over a period of 4 hours, keeping the temperature below 14 degC at all times.
A dark green crystalline substance was then extracted from the solution using ether. Crystals of nitroacetone form after the ether evaporates. The crystals are then recrystallized from methanol (to give a purer product). The resulting nitroacetone from this procedure melts at 46 degC"
nothing simple~economic. preparation of 1-nitropropan-2-ol involves nitromethane as far as im aware.
mindyou, its a mixed fraction formed during vapour phase nitration, maybe useful one day eh.
andershoveland tried this, bubbling no2 directly into acetone. he elaborates in scimadness. theres a mention this was tried years ago and an improvement on the bottom link. seems he deviated from the example in urbanski and not for the better.
hXXp://sites.google.com/site/energeticchemical/exeriments.
this link answers a lot of questions on the thread. its 645 pages long though.
hXXp://www.docstoc.com/docs/17302102/Chemistry-and-Technology-of-Explosives-vol-1-by-Urbanski
i saw this mentioned on scimadness, "mixed Kolbe electrolysis with NaNO2 to provide nitrocarbons (propanoic acid yields nitroethane aside with butane" anyone familiar?