They are both right NEO. Of course it can be done, and
yes, the glassware you would need might become an
issue. Although I am going to have to add that Nitro says
the reaction is "VIOLENT", no it is not that violent. IF you
do what you are NOT supposed to do then yes it MAY
get out of hand. Things that can cause this is adding too
much HgCL2 or too much Nitro. It is recommended that
using at least 2L reaction flask is the way to go, and a 3
is better. That is true, you can get away with a 2L but a
3L would give you more "headroom" for your reaction to
run. The reason you will need at least 400mm of conde-
nsor room is because the MeOH at the rate it is evaping
may cause a kind of "blockage" if not properly condensed
therefor giving a temporary "no relief of pressure" do to the
MeOH gas building up inside, too much pressure and it
will shoot drops of MeOH out of your setup thus defecting
your rxn. If this happens just add a little MeOH to your it.
But I hope this does not because that meant you didn't
follow the writeup very well. Depending on how much you
want to scale up there is a great writeup on rhodium's
page that shows how you can accomplish this using a 5
gallon bucket and overhead stirring, with I believe is 800mm
worth of condensors. It looks like a great setup for bulk
amination. A trip to the hardware store would be in order.
Well just becareful and this is a part where deviation from
the writeup won't payoff UNLESS you are a chemist and
knows exactley what you are doing.
