> chemistry > divers-organiques > cubane-chemistry > cubane-synthesis > mastering-the-ketal-synthesis-cubane-episode-4-extractions-ire

Mastering the Ketal Synthesis - Cubane Episode 4

Extractions&Ire - 2020-09-26

We combine car coolant, a food preservative, hobby car fuel and some drain cleaner in our quest for cubane. Will it end it tar like last time, or have we actually improved? Subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/ExplosionsAndFire/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Explosions_Fire
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ExplosionsandFire
Join the Discord!! https://discord.gg/VR6Fz9g

Music is as usual from the Aphex Twin soundcloud dump, track names are: 
- 7 summerfestivalloveinthecountry
- 19 Winding Road
- 30 Dolby C

References: 1997 Lab scale paper: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/244572672_Dimethyl_Cubane-14-dicarboxylate_A_Practical_Laboratory_Scale_Synthesis
2013 Pilot Scale: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/op400181g

Narogen - 2020-09-26

Using reagent bottles instead of soft drink bottles - what an upgrade!

WD - 2020-10-01

Seorful Who do you think this man is, NileRed? Wait, actually NileRed isn’t much better, he tastes half of what he makes...

J H - 2020-10-01

@WD How about Codys Lab? He's tasted cyanide, nitroglycerine and uses potassium hydroxide as a condiment. lol

Emcee Boogieboots - 2020-11-21

Surprised that there is no rum bottle in use here...

a smol bean - 2021-05-08

Reasons why Nilered is the ideal sugar daddy:

1# has lots of reagent bottles
2# has lots of reagent bottles

Dale Johnson - 2021-12-29

@Extractions&Ire I use a pair of old honey jars for collecting cannabis reclaim in, I think they're perfect for collecting my soot laden "honey oil". That reminds me, I just got a 50ml glass syringe, and some submicron syringe filters, maybe it's time to see how much soot they remove, or if I need to move to activated carbon filtration xD

Teth47 - 2020-09-27

"What have you spent the last 3 years of your life on?"

"I made cubes. Really tiny cubes. That explode."

Also an oil leak is engineer talk for progressive oil changes. That's technically preventative maintenance!

McCarthy's Ghost - 2020-09-30

@Max K but then what happens when the tiny pump starts leaking oil?

Max K - 2020-10-06

@McCarthy's Ghost the solution is recursive

Dhardy - 2020-11-05

PM guy is here and I is he

BackYard Science 2000 - 2020-09-26

A chemist who is late for dinner ends up in trouble with their significant other. Which means sleeping on the couch, which in turn means more experiment time. Yeah, I've been there many times as well.

T P - 2020-09-26

Isn't this how Flubber was invented?

Guy That - 2020-09-26

If you scream in your "lab" (garage) then come back inside without answering any questions about if anything happened to you you may get to sleep in the bed
However do note that this is gambling and if you lose it's much worse than sleeping on the couch

Also it loses potency as its used (varies from partner to partner)

Meme Magic - 2020-09-26

> 3:19 mentions yellow but doesn't complain about it
> gets good yields

Who are you and what have you done with the real Tom?

Hobo Sullivan - 2021-07-15

I think he finally succumbed to madness after Fulminating Platinum.

Another_Online_Alias - 2020-09-27

“This one tastes like” - only the best chemists taste their product to determine what it is.

Ferris Chemistry - 2021-09-03

@K0ester bro copper sulfate is the weirdest substance I've ever tasted

K0ester - 2021-09-04

@Ferris Chemistry i havent tried that yet. I have tried nitric acid, sulphuric acid, potassium permanganate, and lead acetate. I won't comment on which ones were on purpose or accident. Ill try it when i get home and report back.

Ferris Chemistry - 2021-09-04

@K0ester nitric acid just tastes like sour ×1000000

Permanganate was like a fizzy sting for me

Lead acetate had a sweet beginning with a sour damp aftertaste

I haven't ever tried sulfuric though

Ryan - 2021-09-22

I can just imagine my old chem teacher screaming at the very thought of this conversation existing.

Ferris Chemistry - 2021-09-23

@Ryan He is having a seizure right now.

MatterWiz - 2020-09-26

I see you're raising your cat well for the australian Ecosystem, letting it kill the introduced rabbits instead of magpies or
Kookaburras. Fighting introduced pests with introduced pets, if you will

Tisha Hayes - 2020-09-27

The kookaburras will gang-up on your cat and hunt him down.

ekimekim30001 - 2020-09-28

@Max Smith in a lot of parts of Australia rabbits aren't safe to eat because we poison them to try to keep the numbers down. We also tried literal biological warfare: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbits_in_Australia#Biological_measures

Hobo Sullivan - 2021-07-15

@Extractions&Ire My family had a particular cat for about 18 years. She was fantastic at hunting rabbits. I live in the southeast US, where rabbits aren't really a problem, but she hunted them mercilessly. Now, we have an old family story where, on the day of my aunt's 50th birthday party, that old cat caught and killed and ate a rabbit, but as a sign of respect, left us the "best parts". So my mom had to clean up rabbit eyeballs and brains in a hurry before the party started. <_<

Siskin's Bits and Bobs - 2021-10-23

@Extractions&Ire rabbit stew.

ReactiveChem - 2020-09-26

F for that short path condenser

Extractions&Ire - 2020-09-29

Yeah not throwing it out, it still works, it's just a tiny path condenser now

Mark Green - 2020-10-01

@FlatBroke612 I see what you did there...

😂

ONeil Analytics - 2020-10-14

@FlatBroke612 it's at nearly 56% now that last year's stats came out.

molly_disulfide - 2020-11-26

@Pierre Mathis Never forget

Anubis - 2021-07-25

F

FulminatedHg - 2020-09-26

Try using gamer girl bath water as the solvent.

Californium-252 - 2020-10-06

Increases your yield by 99.9%!

Sophia Astatine - 2020-11-27

@Reverend Jynxed Especially if the yellow is piss. Unless you're Nile.

MICR0SC0002P3 - 2021-04-21

@Custos DAMN RIGHT IM STILL UPSET

Hobo Sullivan - 2021-07-15

Wait...since when is semen a good solvent? Shit.

Rudolf - 2021-08-19

Gamer girl bath water is extremely basic, that's a no-go right outta the gate.

Jeremy Y - 2020-09-26

Don't sweat the pump, just replace the oil, or run the pump pulling on an empty flask for a few hours and toluene will boil out.

Toluene won't hurt the seals. DMF or THF would damage them though.

Morten Flecks - 2020-09-28

Not having seen the video before reading your comment made me genuinely concerned for the marine wildlife in Australia

Right Side Up - 2020-09-30

@Morten Flecks Knowing Australian wildlife, they most likely prefer their waters with those things in it to keep the title of "Everything Will Kill You, Even the Water"

Madarius - 2022-05-12

Would be interesting to see if the venom of animals living places with high levels of different types of waste is any different. With toads/frogs /mushrooms varying exactly what they biosynthesize depending on what chemicals their diet/environment give them to start with, there might be some effect from waste over long periods of time.

jogandsp - 2020-09-27

5:00 Me: he's really applying a lot of pressure to the end of that short path condenser. I hope it doesn't... oh.

Oscar Lama - 2020-09-26

Your yeild game is proportional to your thumbnail game

The Ginga Ninja - 2020-10-02

To be watching a chem channel, and not know "weird is a weird exception to the i before e" rule....

Tyler Brown - 2020-11-13

Stonks have good yeild

Politricks - 2021-04-15

@Pavel Ř. in an attempt to correct someone's spelling you use incorrect grammar, bravo sir👏

Pavel Ř. - 2021-04-15

@Politricks Elaborate please

For The XP - 2021-11-06

Your spelling game is proportional to your profile picture game. Michael Cera called for his moustache back.

Duncan W - 2020-09-26

Stateside, Wal-Mart sells 15-micron vacuum pumps and Harps sells dry ice $6/lb.

F for Aussie hobbyists

Brian Streufert - 2020-09-27

Meijer sells dry ice for $2.39/lb; Penguin brand.

Aaron Rathmann - 2020-09-30

The store I work at sells it for four bucks regular price and we have periodic sales where it drops to two.

darkmage35 - 2020-10-01

You can get dry ice easily enough from various places in Australia too. This guy just isn't trying.

Washington Irving - 2022-04-12

@darkmage35 he has said in a past video that the closest shop that sells dry ice is an hour+ each way.

DaftFader - 2020-09-26

The sieves never make it to air:proceeds to pull a vacuum on the sieves.

Scoliosis Gaming - 2020-09-26

I've now watched your cat gallop away with a rabbit in its mouth 10 times. Pure Aussie content that.

Entenkommando - 2020-09-26

The repeated "Oy" just makes it perfect

Lizlodude - 2020-09-27

Today's episode: slightly more ADHD chemistry than usual

Ang Davies - 2020-09-26

If you want dry ice, the best way I've found to get a reasonable amount suitable for home use is to find a meal delivery service that delivers frozen meals.

A lot will package their boxes with dry ice, it's not as much as you'd get if you ordered it dedicated, but the minimum order quantities are so large that most would just go to waste anyway.

I think lite n' easy deliver to you, and they apparently use dry ice? Don't know about others, aren't you Adelaide ish?some "gym based" ones I think ship Australia wide.

$51 Australian for a week's worth of meals is a lot, but the value of the dry ice to you might offset that cost to the point where it was worth considering.

Especially as you seem to have trouble being in time for dinner :p.

Jonah Tetrick - 2020-09-26

I cannot say how much I have been looking forward to another video. You and Nile Red are the main reason I’m majoring in Chem!

dankmemerino147 - 2020-09-26

"why don't we pre-dry our two reagents with some doritos"

ManicPandaz - 2021-12-24

19:19 Its probably because I’m Canadian but whenever you say “I need to run an MMR” I hear “I need to run an enema”... gets me every time 🤣

creepaze - 2020-09-28

I heard yield an was reminded of a practical I did during my alevels where I got a 122% yield which we thought was half impure,. Did a purification and turns out we threw the product away and managed to get all the impurities from the reaction. Worst day of my life.

Christoph Kogler - 2022-01-28

"This one tastes like..." really has me starting to wonder if I am watching chemistry or alchemy.

ILLUSION8 - 2020-09-26

"this one tastes...". i almost choked laughing. FFS

lordchickenhawk - 2020-09-27

I was thinking he's gunna end up like Cody at that rate...

Henry DeShazo - 2020-09-26

I spend all night making all my solvents anhydrous and my reward is early to a new e&i video!

2001Pieps - 2020-09-26

Maybe buy some TLC plates to use as an analytical method?

Also congrats on actually getting a proper yield.

pulpinator09 - 2020-09-26

@Dustin Smith TLC works perfectly fine on liquids

MortRotu - 2020-09-26

@Dustin Smith it'll work just fine on anything that'll dissolve into your chosen eluent.

TheBackyardChemist - 2020-09-26

@adrianpip2000 An iodine chamber often works as an inexpensive staining process. All you need is a jar and a small amount of elemental iodine.

Extractions&Ire - 2020-09-27

I'm thinking about it more and more, just because the next few steps seem pretty hard and we have to be able to determine an end point for things like the UV reaction, so unsure how I'd monitor it at home without something like TLC

ASalami - 2020-10-09

@Extractions&Ire I'd get some plates and just use the I2 stain method. It lets you get a rough idea of what's going on in there at least. Make sure to take pictures of your plates, iodine stain fades over hours/days as the I2 evaporates from the plate.

Jamide 1 - 2020-09-27

Its fun and inspiring to see you improve your chemistry, good luck on the cubes!

Extractions&Ire - 2020-09-27

It's nice to improve!!

L. D. - 2020-09-26

Hey man! Nice job on the setup, your vac distillation is a lot better! Big oof on the short path head though lol

We can protect your pump a little better by adding a bunch of salt to your water ice trap, lower that freezing point. Also use a big steel pot or something with a cover that has a little bit better insulation from the environment. Wrap it up with some fiberglass or a towel or something. You can also chain multiple cold fingers together to amplify the effect. It's a beastly pump so changing the oil will keep it great even after pretty tough beatings. If all else fails just pull a less deep vacuum with your control valve and sacrifice molecules to the thermo gods with more heat at the mantle.

In operation, the more agitation you have put into the fluid the better. Crank that RPM on the stir bar as much as it will allow. Vac grease on the joints is cheap, keeps your glass from fusing and is good for making a more stable plate series.

I feel you on the dry ice. A lab I worked for used to buy out the local small town grocery store's entire supply every week because it was the only option for a while. It was sketchy.

James Churchill - 2020-09-26

Tom mentioned adding calcium chloride to the ice trap, so he's ahead of you there :)

MortRotu - 2020-09-26

To get the toluene out of the pump oil just pull loads of air through it outside, it'll smoke alot. If your pump has a 'ballast' setting on it that's all that does as well. It blows anything volatile out of the oil.

Nathan Samuelson - 2020-09-26

Just saw the PET plastic vid so got a bit nervous when he brought out the engine coolant again

Silver Protect - 2020-09-26

This man uploads at like 12 am. A respectable aussie. Only bogans do yellow chemistry!

Patrick - 2020-09-27

OMG I feel your pain, I gasped when the small condenser broke, I'm always messing with stuff too much and breaking it. Good vid, you are getting better! HAHA

revenevan11 - 2020-12-31

I absolutely love the part where you're calling each reagent by its use or product class or whatever 😂

mildlydegenerate - 2020-09-26

My tired ass just woke up to see this video titled "Mastering the Ketamine Synthesis" and I thought to myself, this explains nothing... Then I tried again and it made more sense

Henry DeShazo - 2022-05-18

after rewatching the Cubane series two or three times now I've just noticed that you keep your good pump that you found in the bin in a Deschem box from China 🤣

James Veerkamp - 2020-09-26

I absolutely love watching these videos. I work with wind tunnels and aerodynamics, so I can't really have a home lab like this, but it's a reminder to stay passionate. And it also gets me to pull my well-worn copy of Ignition out. These are basically the video shitpost equivalents of that book and I love that about them.

No - 2020-09-26

Not enough Orange chem. I'm starting to believe you're a Yellow Chem sympathizer. Please prove me wrong.

Gary Card - 2020-09-26

There was some unusually interesting Yellow Chem going on at Chemical Force recently

Spicy Baguette - 2020-09-26

Look at the stars, look how they shine for you

Edward Gentle - 2020-09-26

@Gary Card yeah

aga - 2020-09-26

Yellow is Orange in White Clothing.
Make Sulphur monochloride to discover the Orange Desire of the Purest Yellows.

fla playa - 2020-09-27

Brilliant budding chemist. Very impressive explanation and execution of your synthesis here. Octanitrocubane is obv the goal here. For those that don't know it is worth more than platinum and is the single most powerful/brisant conventional single component explosive making rdx look like black powder. Cheers... Dry ice can be made onsite from a liquid CO2 cylinder, the type sold for soda fountains. Also fire extinguisher class b.

Johny Appleseed - 2020-10-04

You have a great channel, im looking forward to seeing all of your future endeavors!

Geordie Matthews - 2020-09-26

Well that's made my evening! So many distillations and purifications. You must be one patient bloke.

Aggro Gator - 2020-09-27

"Why were you late to diner?"

"SO MUCH YIELD! SO MUCH YIELD! :D"

IDEK - 2020-09-27

Hey man, I'm wondering if using a TLC plate (thin layer chromatography) would be a relatively cheap way to find different products in the future?

Harrison Fnord - 2020-09-26

Getting a PayPal transfer from a well-known australian energetics chemist: Easiest way to get on a no fly list.

M Yes - 2020-10-03

No worrys hitch a ride with han solo

Internet User - 2020-09-26

Thanks for making these videos man. I really like chemistry, but I went in to computer science. I feel like I'd be a lot like you if I had gone with chem instead. The most complicated thing I've done successfully was a home-based acid/base extraction on some plant material that was super successful, still pretty proud of that.

Curiosity Lab - 2020-09-26

2:23 pretty much every pentagon I draw every time
Maybe you could use TLC to identify your products in future projects?

Deadsies - 2020-09-27

It might be the time lapse of your vacuum distillation but I think improving the seals in your glassware will help with your yield when using a vacuum. A pressure gauge and a valve to close off the vacuum source would help tell if you have a leak. Any leaks in the glassware will cause a massive flow rate that will force the vapors through your condensing column and cold trap before it has a chance to condense.

As as added benefit to a vacuum or any synthesis you could vacuum to a low pressure and refill with nitrogen several times to remove oxygen and water which should significantly help reduce the amount of yellowing. Especially when using a flow meter to keep a small nitrogen flow to maintain the atmosphere inside the reaction flask.

JGPixl - 2020-09-26

You should have done a "YIELD" counter

Cezar Catalin - 2020-09-26

HEY !
You can acquire an IR absorbtion spectrometer if you want to probe the stuff you make !

grovermatic - 2020-09-27

If I ever became a chemist, I think 99% of my day would be spent swirling liquids around in flasks and bottles.

Michael Waters - 2020-09-28

Every time you overcome difficulties that a formal lab would not experience, you gain career experience!

HOBO_Twitch - 2020-09-26

My god your videos are so entertaining. I have no background in chemistry/whatever this is, but I absolutely love this stuff

Super Sophisticated - 2021-10-17

These videos are like the prime definition of "I MADE IT WORK, SHUUUT UP!" /pos

I want to learn how to work on this level instead of being terrified of every little tiny error or anything at all happening and overresearching everything! It overwhelms me! How can I do it like this? /gen