How To Make 4-Methyl Methcathinone: Easy Step-By Step Methods

Do you want to make 4-Methyl Methcathinone at the comfort of your home? If so, I have got your back. 

I have been idle for the past few days and had access to some interesting reagents. So I decided to experiment with the production of 1-Methylphenyl 2-methylaminoquinone hydrochloride or 4-methyl methcathinone, as it is commonly referred to. You might find various other ways of this preparation in various .onion web sites. However, this is what I have come up with.

The process is completed within 48 hours, beginning with toluene, and each step is a first-time attempt. If I attempt the process again, I have included recommendations for the procedure. The initial two steps are very successful, however, the yield is significantly lower in the final step, resulting in a yield of approximately 45%. Despite this, the result is still 43% of the original toluene yield.

Step 1: Preparation Of 4-Methylpropiophenone

The following are the things you would need:

• 73g aluminum chloride
• 300mL dichloroethane
• 46mL propionyl chloride
• 54mL toluene
• 600mL iced water
• 200mL 5% NaOH solution
• Magnesium sulfate

The Procedure

I added 54 ml  (500mmol, 46g) of toluene over 30 minutes to a solution of 73 gm (550mmol) anhydrous aluminum chloride and 46 ml (525mmol, 49g) of propionyl chloride in 200 ml of dichloroethane cooled through an external ice bath. I let it mix for an extra 1.5 hour at 20 degrees Celsius and then added 500 ml of stirred ice water. I separated off the bottom layer of the water and extracted the top layer with 2 x 50 ml of dichloro ethane. I washed the extracts with 2 x 100 ml of 5% sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and 100 ml of water, then dried them over magnesium sulfate. Next, I have removed the solvent and vacuum distilled the ketone at 123-126°C, to produce a colorless oil, 1-(4-methylphenyl)-propan-1-one.

This generated a yield of 70.0g (95%).

Recommendation

• Instead of 2x100ml, wash with 3x100ml 5% NaOH. I have seen some top onion sites with tutorials offer this preparation.
• DCM is probably a better solvent just because it's easier to get out in a vacuum.

Step 2: Transformation Of 4-Methylpropiophenone To 2-Bromo-4’-Methylpropiophenone

The following are the things you would need as a second step of producing 4-Methyl Methcathinone:

• 38mL 4-methylpropiophenone
• 1mL 48% HBr
• 14mL bromine
• 125mL glacial acetic acid
• 650mL water
• 300mL dichloroethane
• Magnesium sulfate

The Procedure

To a solution of 38mL (250mmol, 37g) 4-methylpropiphenone in 125mL glacial acetic acid was added 1mL 48% HBr followed by, over the course of an hour, 14mL (275mmol, 44g) elemental bromine. The reaction mixture, which changed to a nice pink colour during addition, was stirred for a further 1.5 hours, then slowly poured into 500mL ice-cold water, with swirling after each careful addition. The cream-coloured precipitated product was taken up in 200mL dichloroethane, and the aqueous layer extracted with 100mL dichloroethane. The combined extracts were washed with 2x250mL cold water, then dried over magnesium sulfate. The solvent was removed under vacuum, taking care to keep the temperature below 50°C, leaving a turquoise oil, 2-bromo-(4’-methylphenyl)-propan-1-one, which solidified almost immediately on cooling, into sparkling waxy crystals.

This generated a yield of 57g (100%).

Recommendation

• When removing the solvent, try to keep it at a temperature lower than 30°C. Colored crystals mean there's some decomposition going on (the crystals above were very light in colour, so it's only a mild decomposition).
• DCM would work better as an extraction solvent because it can be removed at a lower temperature and won't decompose as much.

Step 3: Transformation Of 4-Methylpropiophenone To 2-Bromo-4’-Methylpropiophenone

The following are the things you would need:

• 13.5g methylamine HCl in 15mL water
• 7.9g sodium hydroxide in 20mL water
• 11.4g 2-bromo-4’-methylpropiophenone
• 6mL 37% HCl diluted with 24mL water
• 115mL toluene
• 225mL water
• Acetone

The Procedure

To a stirred solution of 11.4g (50mmol) 2-bromo-4’-methylpropiophenone in 25mL toluene held at 20°C was added, over 5 minutes, 6.2g methylamine in 35mL water (prepared by adding a solution of 7.9g (198mmol) sodium hydroxide in 20mL cold water to a cooled solution of 13.5g methylamine HCl in 15mL water). The mixture was allowed to stir for a further 16 hours at 20-25°C, then was poured into 150mL ice-cold water. 

The toluene layer was separated off, and the remaining freebase extracted with 2x20mL toluene. The combined toluene extracts were washed with 3x25mL water, and then acidified with 2x15mL dilute HCl. The combined acidic extracts then washed twice with 25mL toluene and evaporated under vacuum to dryness, allowing an off-white solid to form. 20mL acetone was added and was heated to boiling, forming a homogeneous solution, which was then slowly cooled, allowing crystals to precipitate. The crystals were filtered and rinsed with around 100mL ice cold acetone.

This generated a yield of 4.8g (45%).

Recommendation:

• If you want to stop the formation of pyrazine, try stirring for at least 24 hours at a temperature of 0°C. This may also reduce the yield. I'll see what I can do next time. I don't think you can expect more than 50% yield in this third step due to the side effects that can and do happen.
• Yield prior to recrystallisation but after concentration, re-filtering, and washing of 100ml acetone washes yielding an additional 1g of product; recrystallisation is recommended to remove residual pyrazine and can be achieved from acetone / methanol.

Final Thoughts

This product, 4-Methyl Methcathinone can also be reduced to 4-methyl-methamphetamine, which is very easy to make. If you do this, I'd recommend cutting down the bromocetone first, then adding the methylline. That way, you can add the methylline under more intense conditions, which will give you a much higher yield. I tried it once and it gave me a yield of about 60%, but it could definitely go higher. This preparation is mostly for people with a high tolerance level. You can also go ahead and acquire the drug from tor links onion.