[Transmutation]

So, I was heating an uncapped vial with a heat gun, fortunately behind a hood, and it exploded without warning!  The vial contained a few milligrams of an aziridine I had just made, along with perhaps a hundred microliters of DCM, a few mL of methanol, and ninhydrin.  I was attempting to test whether methanol could open my aziridine.  I believe I saw the DCM boil off a little before the explosion, but the methanol did not boil.  The azirdine in question also has a Boc group and a methyl ester on it.... so any ideas what might have happened?

[macman104]

Why were you heating with a heatgun and not a heating mantle of some sort?

[Transmutation]

As it turns out, I didn't have an aziridine at all, but a beta-elimination product.  Imagine my joy when I discovered upon a Beilstein search that the spectrum from the paper I had been using was not an aziridine at all, but a beta-elimination product. 

Oh those wacky lying scientists. >_>

So I suppose it was just the methanol that reacted.

Oh, and the reason I was using a heatgun is that it makes organics boil faster than a heating mantle does.  Anyway, thanks for the help, gentlemen.

[enahs]

You say explosion. Are you sure?

It is very likely you superheated the methanol. Which leads to rapid conversion of methanol in the gaseous phase, taking everything along for the ride.

It is very fun to do on purpose.

[diangeloz]

As it turns out, I didn't have an aziridine at all, but a beta-elimination product.  Imagine my joy when I discovered upon a Beilstein search that the spectrum from the paper I had been using was not an aziridine at all, but a beta-elimination product. 

Oh those wacky lying scientists. >_>

So I suppose it was just the methanol that reacted.

Oh, and the reason I was using a heatgun is that it makes organics boil faster than a heating mantle does.  Anyway, thanks for the help, gentlemen.

Such events can really make your day. I used to spend weeks on the synthesis of a compound which never worked out.  I tried to mail the authors, but no answer.  The paper is out for 6 years now, with no cites...In my experience, crappy papers often come from very specific countries....