FIRST-SOLUTION

This is for information purposes only. Neither the author nor the publisher intends for any of
the information in this article to be used for criminal purposes
The Leuckardt-Wallach Reaction:
An Overview
A variation on the standard Leuckardt procedure is very popular in Europe, and is used to
make benzedrine from phenylacetone reliably. Their batch sizes using this European variation can work up to over a pound. A Russian Advance, which uses nickel in the mixture as catalyst, is also worth checking out.

The Leuckardt-Wallach reaction involves reacting a ketone with two molecules of a formamide to produce the formyl derivative of an amine, which is then hydrolyzed with hydrochloric acid to produce the desired amine. In this case, the reaction shown below.

The conditions which favor the production of high yields of fine-quality products are as follows. There should be a small amount of formic acid in the reaction mixture, because it acts as a
catalyst. It should be buffered by the presence of some free methylamine, to prevent the pH of the
reaction mixture from falling too low (becoming too acidic). The presence of water in the reaction
mixture is to be avoided at all costs, because this really messes up the reaction. It prevents the
phenylacetone from dissolving in the N-methylformamide, leading to low yields of purplecolored
crystal. The recipe I give in a later chapter for making N-methylformamide makes a product which is perfect for this reaction.

It is also important that the reaction be done at the lowest temperature at which it will proceed smoothly, and that the heating be continued for as long as the reaction is still going. In this way nearly all the phenylacetone is converted to methamphetamine.


There is one stumbling block in the path of underground chemists: in 1979, the DEA made
phenylacetone illegal to purchase or possess. N-methylformamide is also risky to obtain, although it is not illegal and is used in industries as a solvent.