Synthesis by-products from the Wacker oxidation of safrole in methanol using ρ-benzoquinone and palladium chloride

This paper reports the identification of a number of by-products, which are produced during the Wacker oxidation of safrole to 3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl-2-propanone (MDP2P) using ρ-benzoquinone and palladium chloride when methanol is utilised as the solvent. Also described is the retrieval of these compounds from illicit samples from a clandestine laboratory, which was uncovered in South Australia in September 2003.