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We develop a continuous flow protocol for the synthesis of sulfonyl chlorides from disulfides and thiols, using 1,3-dichloro-5,5-dimethylhydantoin (DCH) as a dual-function reagent for oxidative chlorination.

Ozonolysis reactions are generally high-yielding, highly selective, and sustainable processes, especially when performed in green solvents. However, ozonolysis is underutilized in organic synthesis and chemical manufacture due to the safety concerns associated with handling ozone (O3) gas and the highly reactive ozonide intermediate. In this article, the development of ozonolysis reactions within a dedicated microreactor platform suitable for gas–liquid transformations is described. The optimization of the reaction conditions for the ozonolysis of cyclohexene to hexanedial, and thioanisole to methyl phenyl sulfoxide is presented. Cyclohexene is transformed to hexanedial in 94% yield at 0 °C within 1.7 seconds. In a similar fashion, the ozonolysis of thioanisole was achieved in 99% yield at 0 °C within

Introduction of acetoxy groups to organic molecules is important for the preparation of many active ingredients and synthetic intermediates. A commonly used and attractive strategy is the oxidative decarboxylation of aliphatic carboxylic acids, which entails the generation of a new C(sp3)-O bond. This reaction has been traditionally carried out using excess amounts of harmful lead(IV) acetate. A sustainable alternative to stoichiometric oxidants is the Hofer-Moest reaction, which relies in the 2-electron anodic oxidation of the carboxylic acid. However, examples showing electrochemical acetoxylation of amino acids are scarce. Herein we present a general and scalable procedure for the anodic decarboxylative acetoxylation of amino acids in batch and continuous flow mode. The procedure has been applied to the derivatization of several natural and synthetic amino acids, including key intermediates for the synthesis of active pharmaceutical ingredients. Good to excellent yields were obtained in all cases. Transfer of the process from batch to a continuous flow cell signficantly increased reaction throughput and space-time yield, with excellent product yields obtained even in a single-pass. The sustainability of the electrochemical protocol has been examined by evaluating its green metrics. Comparison with the conventional method demonstrates that an electrochemical approach has a significant positive effect on the greenness of the process

This communication describes the palladium-catalyzed reductive carbonylation of aryl fluorosulfonates (ArOSO2F) using syngas as an inexpensive and sustainable source of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. The conversion of phenols to aryl fluorosulfonates can be conveniently achieved by employing the inexpensive commodity chemical sulfuryl fluoride (SO2F2) and base. The developed continuous flow formylation protocol requires relatively low loadings for palladium acetate (1.25 mol%) and ligand (2.5 mol%). Good to excellent yields of aryl aldehydes were obtained within 45 min for substrates containing electron withdrawing substituents, and 2 h for substrates containing electron donating substituents. The optimal reaction conditions were identified as 120 °C temperature and 20 bar pressure in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as solvent. DMSO was crucial in suppressing Pd black formation and enhancing reaction rate and selectivity.

The development of a scalable telescoped continuous flow procedure for difluoromethylation of a protected amino acid with fluoroform (CHF3, R-23) gas and subsequent high temperature deprotection to provide eflornithine, an important Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API), is described. Eflornithine is used for the treatment of sleeping sickness and hirsutism, and it is on the World Health Organization’s list of essential medicines. Fluoroform is produced in large quantities as a side product in the manufacture of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE, Teflon). Fluoroform is an ozone-benign and nontoxic gas, but its release into the environment is forbidden under the Kyoto protocol owing to its high global warming potential. The existing manufacturing route to eflornithine uses chlorodifluoromethane (CHClF2, R-22) which will be phased out under the Montreal protocol; therefore, the use of the fluoroform presents a viable cost-effective and more sustainable alternative. The process parameters and equipment setup we...

Fluoroform (CHF3) can be considered as an ideal reagent for difluoromethylation reactions. However, due to the low reactivity of fluoroform, only very few applications have been reported so far. Herein we report a continuous flow difluoromethylation protocol on sp3 carbons employing fluoroform as a reagent. The protocol is applicable for the direct Cα-difluoromethylation of protected α-amino acids, and enables a highly atom efficient synthesis of the active pharmaceutical ingredient eflornithine.

Herein, we present the development of a continuous-flow process for a difluoromethylation with difluorocarbene as the reactive reagent. The difluoromethylated product is a key intermediate during the synthesis of eflornithine, a pharmaceutical that is on the World Health Organization’s Model List of Essential Medicines. The developed procedure uses inexpensive and commercially available chlorodifluoromethane (CHF2Cl, Freon 22) as difluorocarbene source. Deprotonation of CHF2Cl with NaOH in a biphasic mixture of organic solvent-water generates the carbene. A fast subsequent reaction of the difluorocarbene with the substrate generates the desired product with excellent selectivity.

The palladium-catalyzed deoxygenation of o-vinylnitrobenzenes employing carbon monoxide as a terminal reductant produces indoles in a continuous flow environment. The reaction proceeds with catalyst loadings of 1 to 2 mol% Pd(OAc)2 in the presence of suitable ligands/additives and generates carbon dioxide as the only stoichiometric side-product. The reductive cyclization proceeds in a clean fashion with high initial reaction rates in the pressurized flow reactor, ultimately leading to deposition of catalytically inactive palladium(0) inside the channels of the flow device, allowing for an efficient catalyst recovery. A variety of o-vinylnitrobenzenes (o-nitrostilbenes and -styrenes) were converted to the corresponding indoles within 15 to 30 min at a reaction temperature of 140 °C to furnish products in good to excellent yields (10–20 bar CO pressure). Mechanistic aspects and the scope of the transformation are discussed.