Looks like 25 ml 25% into about 750 ml other stuff. Maybe in total less than 1% concentration?
Why did he add salt?
As for that article, you bet I will type it up--
reduction of imines with zinc powder in aqueous solution at room temperature, with no sonication, in 50 to 80% yield.
They didn't create the imines in situ, but ning figures if that is the only problem, well...
They had a methylamine and an ammonia imine, as well as assorted other things.
Rhodium, Ning believes a new era of OTC metallic reductions is about to dawn. It's just a matter of time.
Also, remember that p2p acetic anhydride electrolysis paper? Found some newer stuff by those guys. Turns out, you can do any kind of reduction in an undivided cell with the sacrificial anode. Including reductive aminations. They have a patent in french on that. And acetic anhydride is not the only thing that can donate an acetate thingy.
Must type that, too. It will overcome the major problem with the festerlytic, which is the cell divider.
The basic idea seems to be that the sacrificial anode eats the oxygens or hydroxides that would otherwise oxidize what you are trying to reduce. This allows you to get rid of the cell divider, whose purpose is only to keep your precious ketone/imine away from the oxidizing anode, right?
Clever.
Specially using aluminum.
Since the same cell can do both coupling of AA and reduction of ketone, maybe its almost one-pot from benzyl chloride and AA to...well...amphetamine at least. Maybe still need to make methylamine. Anyway....so much to do, so little time.
