Synthetic Chemistry in Flow: From Photolysis & Homogeneous Photocatalysis to Heterogeneous Photocatalysis

Photocatalytic synthesis of value-added chemicals has gained increasing attention in recent years owing to its versatility in driving many important reactions under ambient conditions. Selective hydrogenation, oxidation, coupling, and halogenation with a high conversion of the reactants have been realized using designed photocatalysts in batch reactors with small volumes at a laboratory scale; however, scaling-up remains a critical challenge due to inefficient utilization of incident light and active sites of the photocatalysts, resulting in poor catalytic performance that hinders its practical applications. Flow systems are considered one of the solutions for practical applications of light-driven reactions and have experienced great success in photolytic and homogeneous photocatalysis, yet their applications in heterogeneous photocatalysis are still under development. In this perspective, we have summarized recent progress in photolytic and photocatalytic synthetic chemistry performed in flow systems from the view of reactor design with a special focus on heterogeneous photocatalysis. The advantages and limitations of different flow systems, as well as some practical considerations of design strategies are discussed.

Visible-Light-Driven Porphyrin-Based Bimetallic Metal-Organic Frameworks for Selective Photoreduction of Nitro Compounds under Mild Conditions

Selective reduction of nitroaromatics to the corresponding amines generally requires complex conditions, involving pressurized hydrogen, higher temperatures, or organic acids. In this work, we successfully prepared a series of porphyrin-based MOF photocatalysts (Pd-PMOFs, In-PMOFs, and In/Pd-PMOFs) via a facile solvothermal method for the efficient selective reduction of nitroaromatics to corresponding anilines with deionized water as the hydrogen donor. Being a new structured material (monoclinic, C₅₂H₄₀InN₆O₈Pd), on account of the abundant pore channels, strong light absorption capability, well-matched bandgap, as well as the coordination of indium ions and palladium ions, In/Pd-MOFs have excellent migration efficiency of photo-induced electrons and holes. Specifically, the In/Pd-PMOF photocatalyst manifested superior conversion (100%) and selectivity (≥80%) toward the screened nitro compounds under mild conditions. This work avoids the use of strong reductants, organic acids, and pressurized hydrogen gas as hydrogen sources, providing a promising concept for developing green catalytic systems.

Imposed dynamic irradiation to intensify photocatalytic reactions

Dynamic irradiation is a potent option to influence the interaction between photochemical reactions and mass transport to design high performant and efficient photochemical processes. To systematically investigate the impact of this parameter, the photocatalytic reduction of nitrobenzene was conducted as a test reaction. Dynamic irradiation was realized through provoked secondary flow patterns, multiple spatially distributed light emitting diodes (LEDs) and electrical pulsation of LEDs. A combined experimental and theoretical approach revealed significant potential to enhance photochemical processes. The reaction rate was accelerated by more than 70% and even more important the photonic efficiency was increased by more than a factor of 4. This renders imposed dynamic irradiation an innovative and powerful tool to intensify photoreactions on the avenue to large scale sustainable photochemical processes.

Flow parallel synthesizer for multiplex synthesis of aryl diazonium libraries via efficient parameter screening

The development of miniaturized flow platforms would enable efficient and selective synthesis of drug and lead molecules by rapidly exploring synthetic methodologies and screening for optimal conditions, progress in which could be transformative for the field. In spite of tremendous advances made in continuous flow technology, these reported flow platforms are not devised to conduct many different reactions simultaneously. Herein, we report a metal-based flow parallel synthesizer that enables multiplex synthesis of libraries of compounds and efficient screening of parameters. This miniaturized synthesizer, equipped with a unique built-in flow distributor and n number of microreactors, can execute multiple types of reactions in parallel under diverse conditions, including photochemistry. Diazonium-based reactions are explored as a test case by distributing the reagent to 16 (n = 16) capillaries to which various building blocks are supplied for the chemistry library synthesis at the optimal conditions obtained by multiplex screening of 96 different reaction variables in reaction time, concentration, and product type. The proficiency of the flow parallel synthesizer is showcased by multiplex formation of various C-C, C-N, C-X, and C-S bonds, leading to optimization of 24 different aryl diazonium chemistries.

Co–Nx catalyst: an effective catalyst for the transformation of nitro compounds into azo compounds

The selective hydrogenation of nitro compounds into their corresponding azo compounds is challenging in organic synthesis.