To a solution of ethane-1,2-diamine (13.70 g, 0.23 mol) in MeOH (75 mL) was drop wise added a solution of benzaldehyde (22.08 g, 0.21 mol) in MeOH (50 mL) over a period of 15 min. The reaction allowed to stirrer for additional five hours and then slowly poured into a cooled (0 °C) mixture of NaBH4 (8.60 g, 0.23 mol) in MeOH (100 mL) kept on ice. The resulting mixture/foam was allowed to stirrer for additional 30 minutes. The solid was collected on a glass filter funnel with suction. The filtrate was concentrated under reduced pressure and the product distilled (91°C at 8.5 × 10-1 mBar) to yield 20.35 g (65%) of the product as a colorless oil. 1