Wei D, Yin N, Xu D, Ge L, Gao Z, Zhang Y, Guo R. Complex Droplet Microreactor for Highly Efficient and Controllable Esterification and Cascade Reactions.
CHEMSUSCHEM 2024:e202400279. [PMID:
38705858 DOI:
10.1002/cssc.202400279]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2024] [Revised: 04/15/2024] [Accepted: 05/03/2024] [Indexed: 05/07/2024]
Abstract
A highly efficient complex emulsion microreactor has been successfully developed for multiphasic water-labile reactions, providing a powerful platform for atom economy and spatiotemporal control of reaction kinetics. Complex emulsions, composing a hydrocarbon phase (H) and a fluorocarbon phase (F) dispersed in an aqueous phase (W), are fabricated in batch scale with precisely controlled droplet morphologies. A biphasic esterification reaction between 2-bromo-1,2-diphenylethane-1-ol (BPO) and perfluoro-heptanoic acid (PFHA) is chosen as a reversible and water-labile reaction model. The conversion reaches up to 100 % under mild temperature without agitation, even with nearly equivalent amounts of reactants. This efficiency surpasses all reported single emulsion microreactors, i. e., 84~95 %, stabilized by various emulsifiers with different catalysts, which typically necessitate continuous stirring, a high excess of one reactant, and/or extended reaction time. Furthermore, over 3 times regulation threshold in conversion rate is attained by manipulating the droplet morphologies, including size and topology, e. g., transition from completely engulfed F/H/W double to partially engulfed (F+H)/W Janus. Addition-esterification, serving as a model for triple phasic cascade reaction, is also successfully implemented under agitating-free and mild temperature with controlled reaction kinetics, demonstrating the versatility and effectiveness of the complex emulsion microreactor.
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