Christian Doppler Laboratory for Microwave Chemistry (CDLMC) and Institute of Chemistry, Karl-Franzens-University Graz, Heinrichstrasse 28, 8010 Graz, Austria.
Chemistry. 2011 Oct 17;17(43):11956-68. doi: 10.1002/chem.201102065. Epub 2011 Sep 20.
The popularity of dedicated microwave reactors in many academic and industrial laboratories has produced a plethora of synthetic protocols that are based on this enabling technology. In the majority of examples, transformations that require several hours when performed using conventional heating under reflux conditions reach completion in a few minutes or even seconds in sealed-vessel, autoclave-type, microwave reactors. However, one severe drawback of microwave chemistry is the difficulty in scaling this technology to a production-scale level. This Concept article demonstrates that this limitation can be overcome by translating batch microwave chemistry to scalable continuous-flow processes. For this purpose, conventionally heated micro- or mesofluidic flow devices fitted with a back-pressure regulator are employed, in which the high temperatures and pressures attainable in a sealed-vessel microwave chemistry batch experiment can be mimicked.
专用微波反应器在许多学术和工业实验室中的普及，产生了大量基于这项使能技术的合成方案。在大多数情况下，采用传统加热回流条件下需要数小时才能完成的转化，在密封容器、高压釜式微波反应器中仅需几分钟甚至几秒钟即可完成。然而，微波化学的一个严重缺点是难以将这项技术扩展到生产规模。本文通过将间歇式微波化学转化为可扩展的连续流工艺，证明了这一限制是可以克服的。为此，采用配备背压调节阀的传统加热微通道或介孔流装置，其中可以模拟密封容器微波化学间歇实验中可达到的高温高压条件。
