Supported Catalysis in Continuous‐Flow Microreactors

Abstract

This review surveys the recent developments to perform heterogeneous catalysis in continuous‐flow microreactors. Three different types, namely, (i) packed‐bed, (ii) monolithic, and (iii) wall‐coated approaches are discussed to implement various kinds of catalysts in a microreactor. In addition, the applications of these supported catalysts to perform a variety of organic reactions are described. Furthermore, advantages of catalytic microreactors over classical batch reactors on one or more aspects of the reaction, such as rate, conversion, selectivity, and enantioselectivity are presented.magnified image

Chemical reaction engineering, process design and scale-up issues at the frontier of synthesis: Flow chemistry

“…Many other examples of heterogeneously catalyzed reactions have been recently reviewed by Frost and Mutton [65], Munirathinam et al [66] and by Kirshning et al [67]. The synthesis in situ of a porous polymer for the immobilization of covalently bound catalysts has been proposed [68].…”

Continuous flow (micro-)reactors for heterogeneously catalyzed reactions: Main design and modelling issues

“…Nevertheless, heat and mass transport limitations can easily occur and significant pressure drop can arise [14,16].…”

“…Heterogeneous catalytic reactors can be classified into three main types: i) packed bed, ii) wall coated and iii) micro-monolithic [14] (Fig. 1).…”

Selective oxidation of cyclohexene through gold functionalized silica monolith microreactors

“…[9,10] Microreactors present many key advantages over the traditionally used batch reactors. [9] Such advantages include continuous flow operation, ease of separation of the catalyst from reactants and products and the ease of sampling without contamination when removing an aliquot. Of particular importance is the ability to obtain accurate and reproducible control over the reaction conditions such as temperature, pressure and reaction solvent.…”

“…Of particular importance is the ability to obtain accurate and reproducible control over the reaction conditions such as temperature, pressure and reaction solvent. [9,11] Furthermore, monolithic devices (microreactors containing a porous network of typically silica or other oxide materials) can be functionalized extensively with enzymes [12], magnetic nanoparticles [11] and other functional groups [12][13][14] in order to tailor their catalytic properties such as selectivity and activity. [10,15].…”