Premium
Photon Equivalents as a Parameter for Scaling Photoredox Reactions in Flow: Translation of Photocatalytic C−N Cross‐Coupling from Lab Scale to Multikilogram Scale
Author(s) -
Corcoran Emily B.,
McMullen Jonathan P.,
Lévesque François,
Wismer Michael K.,
Naber John R.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
angewandte chemie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1521-3757
pISSN - 0044-8249
DOI - 10.1002/ange.201915412
Subject(s) - scaling , photocatalysis , context (archaeology) , scale (ratio) , yield (engineering) , flow (mathematics) , microreactor , photon , reaction rate , coupling reaction , volumetric flow rate , materials science , batch reactor , scale up , chemistry , thermodynamics , physics , mechanics , optics , mathematics , organic chemistry , catalysis , quantum mechanics , classical mechanics , paleontology , geometry , biology
With the development of new photocatalytic methods over recent decades, the translation of these chemical reactions to industrial‐production scales using continuous‐flow reactors has become a topic of increasing interest. In this context, we describe our studies toward elucidating an empirically derived parameter for scaling photocatalytic reactions in flow. By evaluating the performance of a photocatalytic C−N cross‐coupling reaction across multiple reactor sizes and geometries, it was demonstrated that expressing product yield as a function of the absorbed photon equivalents provides a predictive, empirical scaling parameter. Through the use of this scaling factor and characterization of the photonic flux within each reactor, the cross‐coupling was scaled successfully from the milligram scale in batch to a multi‐kilogram reaction in flow.