Benzedrex to Methamphetamine synthesis question, c~hemistry know-how needed!

[Ventrusii]

The one thing I am absolutely clueless on concerning any psychoactive is anything dealing with modification/preparation concerning chemistry. If anyone knows a site where I could learn this stuff (like, literally anywhere. Coursera I already know about.), that would be GREATLY appreciated. I haven't even knowledge of how to identify a basic substance compared to an acidic one.


I was looking into how to convert cyclohexane (a hydrogen-saturated carbon ring) to benzene (a carbon ring with three double-bonds, none bordering one another) , in hopes of applying this process to propylhexedrine. Doing so would create something amazing, just look up propylhexedrine's structure to see and replace the cyclohexane ring with a benzene ring to see what I'm talking about.

I found a website that has the only information I could find ANYWHERE on the clearnet and even in the parts of the deep web I've explored.
http://chem-guide.blogspot.com/2010/04/cracking-and-reforming.html
If this link shouldn't be here, please message me before this thread is (re)moved so I can add the adequate pictures and explanations for what it contains.

It shows that if you heat cyclohexane rings (in this case with a methyl group attached to it, like propylhexedrine would have) to 670 kelvin (746.33 Farenheit / 396.85 Celsius) with a platinum catalyst in the absence? of three dihydrogen (H₂)(The stable form of hydrogen, hydrogen sharing an electron with another hydrogen & vice versa), it would create benzene with four extra dihydrogen.

Would applying this to the full propylhexedrine molecule provide for the same results, or would there be variables that would interfere with such process, such as the molecule vaporizing or decomposing before it reacts, or even a different reaction occurring completely due to the extra parts that are in propylhexedrine that are not there in plain cyclohexane with a methyl group?

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated on this topic. If you don't want to post it on the thread, please DM me. The only reason I don't rush right into this is because I think if I do something stupid it would kill me like I hear so many people who do things like that have happen to them.

~V

 

[d1nach]

Yes your molecule would breakdown at well below that temperature . And even if it didnt youve not going to ever reach that temperature if you did youd have to likely make it in a vacuum in a gas state with organic solvents in their gas state underpressure making explosions and severe chemical burns guarenteed . You basically trying to do if stevening hawkings was a chemist level chemistry

 

[d1nach]

Try this out first start with just practicing pure chemistry. Get white vinegar and baking soda. Practice converting baking soda to sodium carbonate then once you got that under pat converting sodium carbonate to sodium acetate. And also get some table salt and vodka oe whatever and practice salting out and fractionally seperating ethanol water solutions. Once you can do all this u can gradually work up to cooler more dangerous chemistry. U gotta crawl before you walk !

 

[sekio]

We don't allow drug synthesis discussion. I will answer this anyway in the interest of satisfying academic curiosity.

Dehydrogenation of cyclohexane needs to be done at greatly elevated temperature and pressure inside a high-strength steel pressure vessel. The platinum catalyst needs to be a specific form of high surface area activated platinum and cannot be just any old metal (which usually leads to it becoming a pyrophoric solid - it is most often doped onto activated charcoal).

Then you'd need to consider the fact that, if you were to simply do the reaction in an open flask, you would end up producing hydrogen in intimate contact with catalyst material as well as any atmospheric oxygen, at temperatures above the auto-ignition point. Long story short, everything would blow up on you. That's why you need a pressure vessel, and preferably nitrogen or argon gas to purge it with.

It is hard to say if the reaction would yield methamphetamine or just mixtures of various dehydrogenation products up to and including complex tar. Nobody's reported it. In theory the reaction could work, but given the conditions and the fact that propylhexidrine is considerably more complex than cyclohexane I doubt it would work well.

Unfortunately, for someone with no chemical education, it's not even worth considering this as a means of making drugs.