Abstract
Molecular oxygen (O2) is the ultimate “green” oxidant for organic synthesis. There has been recent intensive research within the synthetic community to develop new selective liquid phase aerobic oxidation methodologies as a response to the necessity to reduce the environmental impact of chemical synthesis and manufacture. Green and sustainable chemical processes rely not only on effective chemistry but also on the implementation of reactor technologies that enhance reaction performance and overall safety. Continuous flow reactors have facilitated safer and more efficient utilization of O2, whilst enabling protocols to be scalable. In this article, we discuss recent advancements in the utilization of continuous processing for aerobic oxidations. The translation of aerobic oxidation from batch protocols to continuous flow processes, including process intensification (high T/p), is examined. The use of “synthetic air”, typically consisting of less than 10% O2 in N2, is compared to pure O2 (100% O2) as an oxidant source in terms of process efficiency and safety. Examples of homogeneous catalysis and heterogeneous (packed bed) catalysis are provided. The application of flow photoreactors for the in situ formation of singlet oxygen (1O2) for use in organic reactions, as well as the implementation of membrane technologies, green solvents and recent reactor solutions for handling O2 are covered.
Chapter 3 was originally published as Hone, C. A. & Kappe, C. O. Topics in Current Chemistry (2019) 377: 2. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41061-018-0226-z.
Chapter PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Keywords
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.
The images or other third party material in this chapter are included in the chapter's Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the chapter's Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder.
Copyright information
© 2020 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Hone, C.A., Kappe, C.O. (2020). The Use of Molecular Oxygen for Liquid Phase Aerobic Oxidations in Continuous Flow. In: Noël, T., Luque, R. (eds) Accounts on Sustainable Flow Chemistry. Topics in Current Chemistry Collections. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36572-1_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36572-1_3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-36571-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-36572-1
eBook Packages: Chemistry and Materials ScienceChemistry and Material Science (R0)