Low-Cost Equipment for Photochemical Reactions

Abstract

An inexpensive self-made apparatus for photochemical experiments was developed and has been tested to facilitate the inclusion of photoreactions in undergraduate teaching laboratories despite budget constraints. The core setup allowing the selection of defined wavelengths in the visible and UV regions is made of commercially available components for less than $500, including an enclosure providing a high safety standard. By choice of the reaction glassware, both reactions on micro scale as well as on preparative scale can be conducted easily in an appropriate time frame. In the Supporting Information, ideas for further optional equipment expanding the setup and enhancing its applicability are presented.

Recent Advances Towards the Inclusion of Flow Chemistry within the Undergraduate Practical Class Curriculum

“…Abstracts (A) A number of reactions using flow photochemistry suitable for an undergraduate practical class have been disclosed, [25][26][27] but only two will be showcased here. The first is a photopinacol coupling of benzophenone (1) 28 and the second a thiol-alkene coupling, 29 based on previous work by Tyson et al 30,31 In both cases, students compared conversion into, and yields of, the desired product between the flow and batch process.…”

Accelerated Reaction Engineering of Photo(bio)catalytic Reactions through Parallelization with an Open‐Source Photoreactor

“…In recent years, a range of different photoreactors (commercial and custom) were developed by different companies [32] and groups (Table S5) [33–41] . However, less cost‐intensive solutions often lack an efficient temperature controlling system or allow illumination of only a single sample.…”

Assembly and Application of a Low Budget Photoreactor**

“…Ranging from lamps for thin layer chromatography over commercial LEDs to decommissioned units from standard or reverse phase liquid chromatography instruments, a number of these systems have been reported in the literature. [5][6][7][8][9] In addition to that, 3D printing technology has allowed precise engineering and production of miniaturized systems. [10,11] In this publication, we report on the design and the assembly of a low budget UV-Vis photoreactor.…”

“…Due to the availability of defined light sources in chemical laboratories, self‐made systems have emerged as an alternative for access to photochemical transformations. Ranging from lamps for thin layer chromatography over commercial LEDs to decommissioned units from standard or reverse phase liquid chromatography instruments, a number of these systems have been reported in the literature [5–9] . In addition to that, 3D printing technology has allowed precise engineering and production of miniaturized systems [10,11] …”