The search engine and PiHKAL were not as thorough as I had hoped in answering a question I have. Hopefully one of you readers can help.
I (theoretically) added 148 grams MDP2P dropwise to 77 grams of MeNH2 freebase (about 3X molar quantity) in ~700 ml very cold MeOH and stirred it with a handful of silica gel beads for 30 min. Then I decanted the orange solution to a clean flask and added 50 grams NaCNBH3 (about 50% excess over theory). I then let it stir and come to room temperature.
I am now reading about buffering this rxn. with acetic acid, and I understand the purpose and everything, but I was wondering if anyone could give me a more accurate idea of just how much this really affects the reaction, and how necessary it is when using MeNH2 freebase. Anyone?