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A microflow system consisting of micromixers and microtube reactors provides an effective method for the introduction of two electrophiles onto dibromobiaryls. Selective monolithiation of dibromobiaryls, such as 2,2′-dibromobiphenyl, 4,4′-dibromobiphenyl, 2,7-dibromo-9,9-dioctylfluorene, 2,2′-dibromo-1,1′-binaphthyl, and 2,2′-dibromobibenzyl with 1 equiv of n-butyllithium followed by the reaction with electrophiles was achieved using a microflow system by virtue of fast micromixing and precise temperature control. Sequential introduction of two different electrophiles was achieved using an integrated microflow system composed of four micromixers and four microtube reactors to obtain unsymmetrically substituted biaryl compounds.

Deprotonation of epoxides followed by trapping with electrophiles was carried out using microflow systems with varying temperature and residence time. Time-dependence of the yields of products provides a deeper insight into chemical and configurational stabilities of oxiranyllithiums. With the thus-obtained information, reactions of oxiranyllithiums with various electrophiles were successfully carried out without decomposition and isomerization.

Flash chemistry is a field of chemical synthesis where extremely fast reactions are conducted in a highly controlled manner. A key element of flash chemistry is the control of extremely fast reactions to obtain the desired products selectively. For extremely fast reactions, kinetics often cannot be used because of the lack of homogeneity of the reaction environment when they are conducted in conventional reactors such as flasks. Fast micromixing by virtue of short diffusion path solves such problems. Fast reactions are usually highly exothermic, and heat removal is an important factor in controlling such reactions. Heat transfer occurs very rapidly in micro flow systems by virtue of a large surface area per unit volume, making precise temperature control possible. Another important point is that fast reactions often involve highly unstable intermediates, which decompose very quickly, making reaction control difficult. The residence time can be greatly reduced in micro flow systems, and this feature is quite effective in controlling such reactions. The concept of flash chemistry has been successfully applied to various organic reactions for synthesis including (a) reactions in which undesired byproducts are produced in the subsequent reactions in conventional reactors, (b) highly exothermic reactions that are difficult to control in conventional reactors, and (c) reactions in which a reactive intermediate easily decomposes in conventional reactors. The concept of flash chemistry can be also applied to polymer synthesis. Cationic polymerization can be conducted with an excellent level of molecular-weight control and molecular-weight distribution control. Radical polymerization in micro flow systems leads to better molecular weight distribution control than macro batch systems. Anionic polymerization can also be carried out micro flow systems at higher temperatures than macro batch systems with high degree of molecular weight distribution control.Copyright © 2009 by ASME

This concept article provides a brief outline of the concept of flash chemistry for carrying out extremely fast reactions in organic synthesis by using microreactors. Generation of highly reactive species is one of the key elements of flash chemistry. Another important element of flash chemistry is the control of extremely fast reactions to obtain the desired products selectively. Fast reactions are usually highly exothermic, and heat removal is an important factor in controlling such reactions. Heat transfer occurs very rapidly in microreactors by virtue of a large surface area per unit volume, making precise temperature control possible. Fast reactions often involve highly unstable intermediates, which decompose very quickly, making reaction control difficult. The residence time can be greatly reduced in microreactors, and this feature is quite effective in controlling such reactions. For extremely fast reactions, kinetics often cannot be used because of the lack of homogeneity of the reaction environment when they are conducted in conventional reactors such as flasks. Fast mixing using micromixers solves such problems. The concept of flash chemistry has been successfully applied to various organic reactions including a) highly exothermic reactions that are difficult to control in conventional reactors, b) reactions in which a reactive intermediate easily decomposes in conventional reactors, c) reactions in which undesired byproducts are produced in the subsequent reactions in conventional reactors, and d) reactions whose products easily decompose in conventional reactors. The concept of flash chemistry can be also applied to polymer synthesis. Cationic polymerization can be conducted with an excellent level of molecular-weight control and molecular-weight distribution control.

4.2. Solid-Supported Electrolytes 2280 4.3. Solid-Supported Mediators 2282 4.4. Supported Substrate-Product Capture 2283 4.5. A Unique Electrolyte/Solvent System 2285 5. Reaction Conditions 2285 5.1. Supercritical Fluids 2285 5.1.1. Electrochemical Properties of scCO2 2285 5.1.2. Electroreductive Carboxylation in scCO2 2286 5.1.3. Electrochemical Polymerization in scCO2 2286 5.2. The Cation-Pool Method 2286 5.2.1. Generation of N-Acyliminium Ion Pools 2286 5.2.2. Generation of Alkoxycarbenium Ion Pools 2287 5.2.3. Generation of Diarylcarbenium Ion Pools 2288 5.2.4. Generation of Other Cation Pools 2289 6. Electrochemical Devices 2289 6.1. Electrode Materials 2289 6.2. Ultrasound and Centrifugal Fields 2290 6.3. Electrochemical Microflow Systems 2290 7. Combinatorial Electrochemical Synthesis 2292 7.1. Parallel Electrolysis Using a Macrosystem 2292 7.2. Parallel Electrolysis Using a Microsystem 2293 7.3. Serial Electrolysis Using a Microsystem 2294 8. Conclusions 2294 9. Acknowledgments 2294 10. References 2294

A micro flow system consisting of micromixers and microtube reactors provides an effective method for the introduction of two electrophiles onto p-, m-, and o-dibromobenzenes. The Br-Li exchange reaction of p-dibromobenzene with nBuLi can be conducted by using the micro flow system at 20 degrees C, although much lower temperatures (< -48 degrees C) are needed for a batch reaction. The resulting p-bromophenyllithium was allowed to react with an electrophile in the micro flow system at 20 degrees C. The p-substituted bromobenzene thus obtained was subjected to a second Br-Li exchange reaction followed by reaction with a second electrophile at 20 degrees C in one flow. A similar transformation can be carried out with m-dibromobenzene by using the micro flow system. However, the Br-Li exchange reaction of o-dibromobenzene followed by reaction with an electrophile should be conducted at -78 degrees C to avoid benzyne formation. The second Br-Li exchange reaction followed by reaction with an electrophile can be carried out at 0 degrees C. By using the present method, a variety of p-, m-, and o-disubstituted benzenes were synthesized in one flow at much higher temperatures than are required for conventional batch reactions.

A micro flow system consisting of micromixers and microtube reactors provides an effective method for the introduction of two electrophiles onto p-, m-, and o-dibromobenzenes. The Br-Li exchange reaction of p-dibromobenzene with nBuLi can be conducted by using the micro flow system at 20 degrees C, although much lower temperatures (< -48 degrees C) are needed for a batch reaction. The resulting p-bromophenyllithium was allowed to react with an electrophile in the micro flow system at 20 degrees C. The p-substituted bromobenzene thus obtained was subjected to a second Br-Li exchange reaction followed by reaction with a second electrophile at 20 degrees C in one flow. A similar transformation can be carried out with m-dibromobenzene by using the micro flow system. However, the Br-Li exchange reaction of o-dibromobenzene followed by reaction with an electrophile should be conducted at -78 degrees C to avoid benzyne formation. The second Br-Li exchange reaction followed by reaction with an electrophile can be carried out at 0 degrees C. By using the present method, a variety of p-, m-, and o-disubstituted benzenes were synthesized in one flow at much higher temperatures than are required for conventional batch reactions.

Microflow systems were found to serve as powerful tools for mechanistic studies on reactions involving highly unstable intermediates such as o-bromophenyllithium, which is known to decompose to benzyne very quickly even at −78 °C. Precise residence time control and precise temperature control of microsystems are responsible. Based on the information thus obtained, the Br−Li exchange reaction of o-dibromobenzene followed by reactions with electrophiles without benzyne formation was achieved using a microflow system. Sequential use of two bromine atoms in o-dibromobenzene with Br−Li exchange reactions followed by the reactions with electrophiles using the microsystem consisting of four micromixers and four microtube reactors was also accomplished.

Sequential one-pot three-component coupling reactions have been developed based on the “cation pool” method. An N-acyliminium ion generated by the “cation pool” method adds to an electron-rich carbon−carbon double bond, such as enamine derivatives and vinyl sulfides, to form the second “cation pool”. The addition of nucleophiles such as allylsilanes, enol silyl ethers, Grignard reagents, and organoaluminum compounds led to the formation of the corresponding three-component coupling products.

Highly selective Friedel-Crafts monoalkylation of aromatic compounds with N-acyliminium ions has been achieved by efficient 1:1 mixing using a multilamination-type micromixer.

With 3,3'-bis(2-oxazolyl)-1,1'-bi-2-naphthols (BINOL-Box) synthesized from 1,1'-bi-2-naphthol (BINOL), the enantioselective addition of diethylzinc to aryl aldehydes proceeded smoothly to give secondary aryl alcohols in good yield with good enantioselectivity. Interestingly, the yields and enantioselectivities were affected by the mixing sequence of the reactants. Furthermore, the synthesis of both enantiomers of the addition products has been achieved using the same ligands by choosing achiral additives, Ti(O-iPr) 4 and 4A molecular sieves.

N-tert-Butylsulfonyl(Bus)-α-phenylaziridinyllithium was effectively generated by the reaction of N-Bus-2-phenylaziridine with n-BuLi in a microflow system at −28 °C, although much lower temperature...

α-Triphenylsilyloxiranyllithium was effectively generated by the reaction of epoxyethyltriphenylsilane with n-BuLi in a microflow reactor at 0 °C, though it is well known that an over reaction cann...

The "cation pool" of an N-acyliminium ion was found to serve as an effective initiator of cationic polymerization of vinyl ethers in a microsystem consisting of two micromixers and a microtube reactor. The polymerization led to very narrow molecular weight distribution (Mw/Mn = 1.14). The molecular weight (Mn) increased linearly with an increase in the amount of the monomer. The carbocationic polymer end was effectively trapped by allyltrimethylsilane. The present observations illustrate the potential of microsystems, in conjunction with the cation pool, to effect polymerization in a highly controlled manner without the deceleration inherent in the dynamic equilibrium between active and dormant species.

A continuous flow microreactor method for generating and carrying out reactions on pyridyllithiums has been developed based on Br/Li exchange reactions of bromopyridines and dibromopyridines. The reactions can be carried out without using cryogenic conditions by virtue of short residence times and efficient heat transfer, while very low temperatures such as –78 or –110°C are required for conventional batch macro methods. Moreover, sequential introduction of two different electrophiles has been successfully achieved using dibromopyridines in an integrated flow microreactor system composed of four micromixers and four microtube reactors.

We found that an integrated flow microreactor system enables the preparation of boronic esters bearing electrophilic functional groups using organolithium chemistry and that it allows for their use in Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling without intentionally added base. Based on this method, cross-coupling of two aryl halides bearing electrophilic functional groups was accomplished to obtain the corresponding biaryl compounds in one flow.

Sequential introduction of three electrophiles into 1,3,5-tribromobenzene based on Br/Li exchange reaction was achieved using an integrated flow microreactor system consisting of six micromixers and six microtube reactors. This method enables flash synthesis of TAC-101 and its analogues within 13 s in good yields on a preparative scale.

Perfluoroalkyllithiums were effectively generated from perfluoroalkyl halides in the presence and absence of electrophiles using flow microreactor systems. The in situ trapping with electrophile is conducted at much higher temperatures than those required for batch macro reactors. The subsequent trapping method is quite effective for highly reactive electrophiles that are not compatible with the lithiation process.

We developed a microflow method for the generation and reactions of aryllithiums bearing a cyano group, including o-lithiobenzonitrile, m-lithiobenzonitrile and p-lithiobenzonitrile. The method was effective at much higher temperatures than are required for conventional macrobatch reactions, by virtue of rapid mixing, short residence time, and efficient temperature control. In addition, reactions of o-lithiobenzonitrile with carbonyl compounds followed by trapping of the resulting lithium alkoxides with electrophiles were achieved in an integrated microflow system.

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