Fluorinations, chlorinations and brominations of organic compounds in micro reactors

This paper gives an overview of the application of micro reactors for fluorination and chlorination of organic compounds supplemented by reporting about first investigations by the authors on the topic of bromination reactions in a micro reactor system. After a brief introduction illuminating the status of micro-chemical processing in general and covering the basic advantages of microstructured reactors, the different micro reactors used so far for halogenation reactions will be described with respect to fabrication, range of operation and performance. Thereafter, investigated reaction systems will be described and discussed.All the reactions have in common that halogenation is achieved by using elemental halogens. Beside one gas phase chlorination, the described fluorinations and chlorinations are gas/liquid processes investigated in specialised gas/liquid micro reactors. In contrast, bromination reactions were performed in a micro mixer/tube set-up not specially adopted e.g. to gas/liquid conditions. Phase conditions here are quite complex through evaporated bromine and gaseous hydrogen bromide formed during the reaction.The range of reactions comprises aromatic electrophilic substitutions and free radical substitutions of alkanes and in the side chain of aromatic compounds. The experimental results underpin the benefits of micro reactors for halogenation reactions as improved process control, process safety, improved selectivity and yields, shortening of syntheses and higher space-time yields. Furthermore, another aspect is the potential for an accelerated process development.     

Electrophilic amination of enolates with oxaziridines: effects of oxaziridine structure and reaction conditions

A range of N-alkoxycarbonyl- and N-carboxamido-oxaziridines has been prepared to test the effects of oxaziridine structure on yields of enolate amination product. Side-products arising from reaction of aldehyde-derived oxaziridines with base were identified, while a ketone-derived oxaziridine afforded moderate yields of amination product with stabilised carbanions.     

Solution phase synthesis of esters within a micro reactor

A range of techniques are demonstrated for the solution phase synthesis of esters within an EOF-based borosilicate glass micro reactor, including the use of mixed anhydrides and the in situ preparation of acyl halides.     

The regioselective preparation of 1,3-diketones within a micro reactor

We demonstrate a simple method for the regioselective preparation of 1,3-diketones within a micro reactor from silyl enol ethers where the products are free from both competing O-acylation and diacylation products.     

Unexpected ambidoselectivity in crossed-aldol reactions of α-oxy aldehyde trichlorosilyl enolates

The ambido-, stereo- and enantioselectivity of the phosphoramide-promoted aldol reactions of α-oxy aldehyde trichlorosilyl enolates with benzaldehyde has been investigated. Analysis of the products from α-tert-butyldimethylsilyloxy α-deuterioacetaldehyde trichlorosilyl enolate confirmed that this 1,2-bis-silyloxyethene derivative reacted as a tert-butyldimethylsilyl enolate rather than trichlorosilyl enolate in the aldol reaction with very high ambidoselectivity. The phosphoramide-coordinated trichlorosilyl group acted as an organizing center for the aldol reaction. From the aldol process, excellent anti-diastereoselectivity could be achieved. The enantioselectivity remained moderate to low for both anti- and syn-diastereomer with a wide range of phosphoramide catalysts. α-Triisopropylsilyloxy, phenoxy and benzyloxy acetaldehyde trichlorosilyl enolates also reacted in a similar fashion with benzaldehyde to give aldol products with varying degrees of selectivities.     

1,4-addition of enolates to alpha,beta-unsaturated ketones within a micro reactor

We demonstrate the formation of a series of diketone enolates and their subsequent reaction with alpha,beta-unsaturated carbonyl compounds in order to prepare a variety of Michael adducts. In all cases, the conversions observed within a micro reactor were greater than those obtained in batch.     

全氟丁基取代烯烃的制备及其硼氢化反应

在相转移催化或超声作用下, 全氟丁基碘和烯烃或炔烃发生加成反应, 从加成得到的烷烃脱碘化氢或烯烃加成产物脱碘还原生成全氟丁基取代烯烃. 全氟丁基取代烯烃的硼氢化反应主要得到α-全氟丁基取代的硼烷.     

The aldol reaction of silyl enol ethers within a micro reactor

We have demonstrated the use of silyl enol ethers in the aldol reaction within a micro reactor. Quantitative conversion of the silyl enol ether to a beta-hydroxyketone was observed in a 20 min period compared to traditional batch systems, where quantitative yields were only obtained when extended reaction times of 24 h were employed.     

Titanium mediated asymmetric aldol reaction with α-fluoropropionimide enolates

Aldol reaction utilising Evans N-(α-fluoropropyl)-2-oxazolidinones with TiCl₄ have been explored. Reactions of N-(α-fluoropropyl)-2-oxazolidinones with aliphatic aldehydes generated α-fluoro-β-hydroxy-aldol products with high diastereoselectivities. When (αR)- and (αS)-N-(α-fluoropropyl)-2-(4S)-oxazolidinones were explored as substrates they gave rise to identical aldol diastereoisomer products. Examination of the enolates formed in each case by ¹⁹F NMR, after treatment with TiCl₄, indicated that both preparations gave the same predominant enolate. This was assumed to be the E-enolate. The α-fluoro-β-hydroxy-aldol products were removed from the auxiliary either by alcoholysis or reduction and converted to the corresponding α,β-difluoro products by treatment with Deoxofluor™.     

An investigation into the use of silica-supported bases within EOF-based flow reactors

Using a series of silica-supported bases, we demonstrate the synthesis of eight condensation products within an EOF-based flow reactor; in all cases, high yields (>99%) and product purity are obtained.     

Asymmetric catalysis in a micro reactor—Ce, Yb and Lu catalysed enantioselective addition of trimethylsilyl cyanide to benzaldehyde

A T-shaped micro reactor was used for the optimisation of reaction conditions for the enantioselective silylcyanation of benzaldehyde catalysed by lanthanide-pybox complexes. Compared to a conventional batch procedure, higher conversion was observed within shorter reaction time. The micro reactor process involving Lu(III) afforded essentially the same enantioselectivity as the batch process (73 vs 76% ee), whereas the enantioselectivity was lower in the micro reactor for catalysts containing Yb(III) (53 compared to 72%). Ce(III) provided very low selectivity in both types of processes (1 and 11% ee, respectively). A study of the effect of additives showed that the enantioselectivity in the Yb catalysed reaction performed in the micro reactor could be increased to 66%, whereas only a minor improvement, to 78% ee, was observed in the reaction with Lu.     

The application of micro reactors for organic synthesis

This tutorial review describes how micro reactors are being applied to synthetic chemistry covering a wide range of applications, from the preparation of nanograms of material for drug discovery and screening to the multi-tonne production of fine chemicals. This article explores how miniaturisation may revolutionise chemical synthesis and demonstrates that products are generated in higher yield and purity compared to the equivalent bulk reactions, in much shorter periods of time.     

Scalable synthesis of ionic liquids: comparison of performances of microstructured and stirred batch reactors

A range of alkylpyridinium bromide ionic liquids have been synthesized in a stirred reactor at multigram scale and characterized by physical methods (viscosity, conductivity, melting point, electrochemical window, and water content). One ionic liquid, octylpyridinium bromide, was chosen to be synthesized in both macro and reduced scale reactors, in order to compare its performance and to afford evidence of the advantages of a cross channel micro reactor (channel width = 1 mm) compared to a stirred reactor.     

The enantioselective halo aldol reaction utilizing cyclopropyl ketone-derived enolates

A new enantioselective halo aldol reaction is reported using a chiral borane catalyst. The absolute stereochemistry of the product was unambiguously determined by chemical transformations and a preliminary mechanistic study is reported.     

鼓泡浆态反应器中低温甲醇合成的探索

为了开发低温液相甲醇合成新工艺,使用CuCr／CH3ONa催化体系,在直径40mm的鼓泡浆液反应器中考察了低温甲醇合成的反应性能。鼓泡浆液反应器使用的浆液由铜铬催化剂、甲醇钠溶液、乳化剂OP-10和液相介质二甲苯组成。实验结果表明在90℃～110℃、4．8MPa和操作气速0．2cm／s下,前9h的CO平均转化率达到78％。甲醇是反应的主要产物。与搅拌釜中的实验结果比较,鼓泡浆液反应器的反应效率为搅拌釜的80％。这是由于甲醇钠的消耗和乳化剂的负效应所致。实验结果示范了鼓泡浆态反应器中低温甲醇合成的可行性。     

The anaerobic treatment of soft drink wastewater in UASB and hybrid reactors

The anaerobic treatment of soft drink wastewater (SDW) was studied in two laboratory reactors—a 1.8-L UASB reactor and a 3-L hybrid reactor-sludge bed containing a layer of polyurethane in the upper part, at 35°C. The highest organic loading rates (OLR) achieved were 13 and 16.5 g COD/L · D for hybrid and UASB reactors, respectively, with the treatment efficiency of about 80% for both reactors. Despite the higher treatment productivity achieved for the UASB reactor, its lower ability to generate a sufficient level of alkalinity led to difficulties in maintaining a stable operation performance. Therefore, the hybrid reactor seems to be indicated for OLR higher than 10 g COD/L · d and HRT lower than 1 D, from the point of view of reliability of these two systems. Both reactors can treat the SDW with pH influent up to 11.0. The feeding of reactors with higher pH influent values led to their quick failure because of alkali shock. The duration of the recovery period after alkali shock was about 1.5-2 mo.     

费托合成鼓泡浆态床反应器模型化研究

建立了费托合成鼓泡浆态床反应器双泡模型,通过模型对比的方法模拟讨论了多个反应器模型,双泡模型、全混模型以及多级串联模型,对比模拟讨论了费托合成反应各模型的适用性。模拟结果说明,全混模型适用于费托合成动力学行为的考察模拟;多级串联模型在一定的级数下能够近似模拟鼓泡浆态床中费托合成反应结果,更适用于探讨返混对费托合成反应行为的影响;双泡模型能够描述鼓泡浆态床中流体力学对反应的影响。     

Acid-catalysed synthesis and deprotection of dimethyl acetals in a miniaturised electroosmotic flow reactor

Through incorporating a series of polymer-supported acid catalysts into a miniaturised EOF-based flow reactor, we demonstrate a clean and efficient technique for the protection of aldehydes as their respective dimethyl acetal. In addition, we also report the acid catalysed deacetalisation of 11 dimethyl acetals to their respective aldehyde. In all cases, the compounds described are obtained in high yield (>95%) and excellent purity (>99%) without the need for further product purification.     

The accelerated preparation of 1,4-dihydropyridines using microflow reactors

The synthesis of 1,4-dihydropyridines was performed in a continuous-flow microreactor. Elevated temperatures accelerated the reaction rate significantly allowing the reaction to be finished in minutes (6–11 min). Different 1,4-dihydropyridines were prepared in good to excellent isolated yields (45–88% yield). The method was amenable to the preparation of daropidine, a calcium channel blocker which is currently in clinical phase 3 trials.     

Synthetic studies on neomarinone: practical and efficient stereoselective synthesis of the side chain

A practical and efficient stereoselective synthesis of the side chain of neomarinone is reported. The synthesis was achieved in six steps (41% overall yield) from 2-methyl-2-cyclohexenone. The key step is a novel stereoselective 1,4-conjugate addition/enolate alkylation by an epoxide-opening reaction.