I've got the chance to perform recently a small benzo. My first surprise was the neon green color that had the crude ketone under UV. Fortunately, the distilled ketone was just yellow, without this neon green, but in the collecting flask appeared small white crystals, what has been mentioned in the Hive.
I wonder what the hell is that product, as well as the other impurities in the distillate that can react in a reductive amination. If the solids are some benzo or hydroxy benzo or something like that, it will form some kind of aniline that is a poison.
Otherwise, a TLC in toluene:ethyl acetate 10:2 shows a spot of safrol/iso on top , a spot of ketone in the middle and a third spot below the ketone. A shadow in that place appears even in a TLC of 98 % pure ketone when using a not diluted sample.
It seems that there are some bees with access to analytical equipment and may be some of them know the benzo wacker. It would be very educative for all us to know the composition of the ketone produced with the benzo, what are the solids and if that product can be removed just filtering and an estimation of other specially not interesting products such the aldehyde or the 1 ketone.
Anyone ?