There are a few reactions of interest requiring the use of a methyl grignard, the addition to imines being one of them.
http://www.erowid.org/archive/rhodium/chemistry/meth.phenylacetaldehyde.html
Ideally, MeMgI would be used in these situations since it has a friendly boiling point, but with the growing lockdown on iodine and iodides, starting from Methyl Bromide looks to be more sustainable.
Generation of MeBr doesn't look too be too much of a problem, but after that is when things start to get interesting..
1. Drying: What is a suitable way to ensure the produced MeBr is dry? Can distilling through CaCl cause displacement reactions? Would MgSO4 be suitable? Or maybe just bubbling through H2SO4?
2. Grignard formation: MeBr is miscible in ether, which is nice, but I know grignard reactions generally have to be heated to get them started. I haven't worked with grignard reactions before, and I'm wondering if it's possible to carry it out at a temperature where the MeBr isn't going to just boil away? Maybe just carry it out under pressure?
Also, it is supposed to be considerably difficult or at least take considerably more time to initiate the formation of a grignard reagent without the addition of an iodine crystal. Does anyone know how effective some of the other methods of initiation are, such as crushing or scratching up the Mg to expose the clean surface, or adding a bit of HgCl2?
I know that's a battery of questions, but I can see a lot of potential uses for it.
Guh.. not being able to experiment properly is killing me.. will hopefully be moving somewhere with a lot more privacy soon.
http://www.erowid.org/archive/rhodium/chemistry/meth.phenylacetaldehyde.html
Ideally, MeMgI would be used in these situations since it has a friendly boiling point, but with the growing lockdown on iodine and iodides, starting from Methyl Bromide looks to be more sustainable.
Generation of MeBr doesn't look too be too much of a problem, but after that is when things start to get interesting..
1. Drying: What is a suitable way to ensure the produced MeBr is dry? Can distilling through CaCl cause displacement reactions? Would MgSO4 be suitable? Or maybe just bubbling through H2SO4?
2. Grignard formation: MeBr is miscible in ether, which is nice, but I know grignard reactions generally have to be heated to get them started. I haven't worked with grignard reactions before, and I'm wondering if it's possible to carry it out at a temperature where the MeBr isn't going to just boil away? Maybe just carry it out under pressure?
Also, it is supposed to be considerably difficult or at least take considerably more time to initiate the formation of a grignard reagent without the addition of an iodine crystal. Does anyone know how effective some of the other methods of initiation are, such as crushing or scratching up the Mg to expose the clean surface, or adding a bit of HgCl2?
I know that's a battery of questions, but I can see a lot of potential uses for it.
Guh.. not being able to experiment properly is killing me.. will hopefully be moving somewhere with a lot more privacy soon.