I can assure you that the method I posted is from a very credible source and is very accurate. It was derrived from many a discussion on full vacuum reflux methods to only using vacuum at the initial part of reaction. After reading the patent for RuCl3 isomerization and the vacuum reflux by Osmium it was decided that only a few hours were needed.
"at approximately 120°C. The reflux was continued overnight, the vacuum source disconnected, and the reflux condenser was replaced by a fractional distillation setup with a vigreux column and the isosafrole was distilled, again with good magnetic stirring. Refraction index measurements shows the reaction to be mostly completed after approximately 3 hours"
"was stirred at 130°C for 4h. The black oil was distilled at the water pump to give 45g of safrole at 110-117°C, and the bulk of the oil distilled at 118-121°C yielding 360g of crystal clear isosafrole (90% yield based on the reacted safrole)."
https://www.thevespiary.org/rhodium/Rhodium/chemistry/isomerizafrole.html
Failure is most likely your technique of from your oil.
Are you distilling your sassy? Have you done anything to confirm the purity of the supposed safrole fraction? How can you be sure your sassy doesn't contain adulturants? I know of a few bees that have been getting tainted oil from the few sources that still sell it.
3hrs@230c?? Should be more like fifteen minutes!
"Isomerization of distilled 1-alkene with 1% KOH can be done, according to SWIM with >90% yields in under thirty minutes at 243°C.
Experimental: Dissolve using heat and good stirring 1 gram of KOH in ethanol of methanol. Once dissolved, add 100 grams of distilled 1-alkene to mixture and increase heat to distill off the alcohol, which can be reused. Place thermometer in flask and continue to heat and stir until temperature reaches 243°C (it will hit 232°C first, linger awhile, but will soon ascend). Hold for 5 minutes, the turn off heat and let cool. Next, vacuum distill to get desired product."
https://www.thevespiary.org/rhodium/Rhodium/chemistry/oxone.epoxidation.html
Iron pentacarbonyl is toxic and expensive and I am unsure of its role in being reusable. I would suggest you buy some noble metal catalyst of some sort. Ruthenium seeming to be the easiest and cheapest to get at just about anywere. Prices for RuCl3 range from $55-165 dollars per five grams. And for what little is used it is quite economical seeing as it is reusable. Also smaller ammounts can be used with an increase of reaction times. The overall low conversion cited on rhodiums page under RuCl3, can be achieved with using only KOH. Using an expenisve catalyst to have 45g safrole forerun is quite ridiculous. You can achieve the same thing in the same 3-4 hours using 1.5%wt KOH catalyst.
Patent US4138411
https://www.thevespiary.org/rhodium/Rhodium/chemistry/isomerizafrole.html
Post 350467
(sYnThOmAtIc: "Isomerization Problems", Chemistry Discourse) I know that the person who has given me his info to post above doesn't like running reaction past completion, but rather under completion. He likes the confirmation of a first small fraction folowed by a brief second and a final major fraction. Takes some of the guess work and confirmation work out of the final processing.
There is very little misinformation on the hive, period. And what little there is is very obvious or has been posted or rated as such. You would know this if you tried a few of them. After all, most all the information here comes from legit and well respected sources of professional publishings. Often times a failure comes when an individual is unable to reproduce exact conditions because of lack of detailed information or some other circumstance.
Your failure in isomerizing safrole is not the fault of the hive. It is a very simple process that can be done very easily and with high yields when you know what your doing. Isomerization of safrole for what seems to be your intended use is ILLEGAL anyways and you should not be making personal coments about it anyway. You should damn sure not be asking other bees to do the same. Take it all with a grain of salt! I am not proficient in chemistry like our master bee Rhodium, but I can see that refuxing vanillin with dimethyl sulfate produces a di-methyl derrivative from the 3-methyl, 4-hydroxyl aldehyde to make 3,4-dimethoxy aldehyde... It's very simple as is your selected reaction. It is not our problem that you don't take the time to learn this method correctly before proceeding.
SO QUIT BITCHING!! Nothing is perfect. Can't always believe what you read/hear. Blah, blah, blah, etc... That being said, good luck with your next go at it
