Hey guys,
I wondered if you could clear something up for me. I keep hearing the use of psudoephedrine as a precursor in the Birch rxn. I thought reduction of a benzyl alchol via "Birch" yields 99.8 percent straight conversion from one enantiomer of ephedrine to the corresponding+/- enantiomer of N-methyl amphetamine, unracemized (JACS reduction of benzy;). If this is true, then wouldn't SWIM get active product if he were to start with the + ephedrine salt, instead of the pseudo?
I'll sleep when I'm dead