Electrosynthesis in Laminar Flow Using a Flow Microreactor

Local Electric Field and Electrical Conductivity Analysis Using a Glass Microelectrode

Transport phenomena in microfluidic chips are induced by electric fields and electrolyte concentrations. Liquid flows are often affected by ionic currents driven by electric fields in narrow channels, which are applied in microelectromechanical systems, microreactors, lab-on-a-chip, and so forth. Even though numerical studies to evaluate those local fields have been reported, measurement methods seem to be under construction. To deeply understand the dynamics of ions at the microscale, measurement techniques are necessary to be developed. In this study, we propose a novel method to directly measure electrical potential differences in liquids, local electric fields, and electrical conductivities, using a glass microelectrode. Scanning an electrolyte solution, for example, KCl solutions, with a 1 μm tip under constant ionic current conditions, a potential difference in liquids is locally measured with a micrometer-scale resolution. The conductivity of KCl solutions ranging from 0.56 to 100 mM is evaluated from electric fields locally measured, and errors are within 5% compared with the reference values. It is found that the present method enables us to directly measure local electric fields under constant current and that the electrical conductivity is quantitatively evaluated. Furthermore, it is suggested that the present method is available for various electrical analyses without calibration procedures before measurements.

Process intensification in continuous flow organic synthesis with enabling and hybrid technologies

Industrial organic synthesis is time and energy consuming, and generates substantial waste. Traditional conductive heating and mixing in batch reactors is no longer competitive with continuous-flow synthetic methods and enabling technologies that can strongly promote reaction kinetics. These advances lead to faster and simplified downstream processes with easier workup, purification and process scale-up. In the current Industry 4.0 revolution, new advances that are based on cyber-physical systems and artificial intelligence will be able to optimize and invigorate synthetic processes by connecting cascade reactors with continuous in-line monitoring and even predict solutions in case of unforeseen events. Alternative energy sources, such as dielectric and ohmic heating, ultrasound, hydrodynamic cavitation, reactive extruders and plasma have revolutionized standard procedures. So-called hybrid or hyphenated techniques, where the combination of two different energy sources often generates synergistic effects, are also worthy of mention. Herein, we report our consolidated experience of all of these alternative techniques.

Electrogenerated base-promoted cyclopropanation using alkyl 2-chloroacetates

The electrochemical reduction conditions of the reaction of alkyl 2-chloroacetates in Bu4NBr/DMF using a divided cell equipped with Pt electrodes to produce the corresponding cyclopropane derivatives in moderate yields were discovered. The reaction conditions were optimized, the scope and limitations, as well as scale-up reactions were investigated. The presented method for the electrochemical production of cyclopropane derivatives is an environmentally friendly and easy to perform synthetic procedure.

Bayesian optimization with constraint on passed charge for multiparameter screening of electrochemical reductive carboxylation in a flow microreactor

Multiparameter screening of reductive carboxylation in an electrochemical flow microreactor was performed using a Bayesian optimization (BO) strategy. The developed algorithm features a constraint on passed charge for the electrochemical...

Anodic substitution reaction of carbamates in a flow microreactor using a stable emulsion solution

An anodic substitution reaction in a flow microreactor using a stable emulsion solution prepared by tandem acoustic emulsification is demonstrated.