# Methylamine HCL from a nitromethane reduction?



## norton5512 (Sep 9, 2022)

I am done with doing a formaldehyde and ammonium chloride synthesis of methylamine it's too dirty and dealing with ammonium chloride is hell.
Does anyone have any experience successfully doing a fe/hcl reduction of nitromethane to the HCL salt? or something similar.

It seems like an easy way to get pure methylamine without dealing with mess and recrystalisation. 

If anyone has a good recipe/process speak away!


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## Fenster

Yes, look at Jesse Pinkmans post. You can make the Methylamine in situ. simply adding nitromethane with your ketone and drip it into your reducing agent for eg hg/al amalgam. The the Nitromethane with be reduced at the same time to Methylamine and methylation will occur in situ without any adding of Methylamine. If balanced and controlled there will be very little excess Methylamine produced and no nasty smell.


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## Thorsp3

Fenster said:


> Yes, look at Jesse Pinkmans post. You can make the Methylamine in situ. simply adding nitromethane with your ketone and drip it into your reducing agent for eg hg/al amalgam. The the Nitromethane with be reduced at the same time to Methylamine and methylation will occur in situ without any adding of Methylamine. If balanced and controlled there will be very little excess Methylamine produced and no nasty smell.



Fenster1 mole of nitromethane
4.4 moles of iron (1cm x 1cm sheet iron, or nails)
about 1.5 mol Hcl
280 ml of water
reflux for 2 hours 70cº
this is the easiest way to make methylamine.
Tested and performed many times.
yield 90%


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## Fenster

Hav



Thorsp3 said:


> 1 mole of nitromethane
> 4.4 moles of iron (1cm x 1cm sheet iron, or nails)
> about 1.5 mol Hcl
> 280 ml of water
> ...



Thorsp3Have you got a reference for this by chance?


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## malignoalfa

3NO2 + 3Fe + 6HCl → CH3NH2 + 3FeCl2 + 2H2O

61g CH3NO2 + 167g Fe + 218g HCl → 31g CH3NH2 + 380g FeCl2 + 36g H2O


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## malignoalfa

Sorry
3CH3NO2 + 3Fe + 6HCl → CH3NH2 + 3FeCl2 + 2H2O


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