Improving Efficiency by Using Continuous Flow to Enable Cycles: Pseudo-Catalysis, Catalysis and Kinetics

• Main Author: Sullivan, Ryan
• Other Authors: Newman, Stephen
• Format: Others
• Language: en
• Published: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa 2020
• Subjects: flow chemistry; kinetics; catalysis; cross-coupling; palladium; diazo; camphosultam; Oppolzer's sultam
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10393/40387; http://dx.doi.org/10.20381/ruor-24620

This thesis is centered around the use of flow chemistry to enable cycles in order to increase reaction or process efficiency. Chapter two describes the development of a pseudo-catalytic cycle in space; a strategy to achieve formal sub-stoichiometric loading of a chiral auxiliary. By telescoping auxiliary attachment, asymmetric transformation and auxiliary cleavage into one continuous flow process, coupled with separation of product and recovery of auxiliary, the reuse of the auxiliary can be automated by returning the recovered auxiliary back to the start of the process to achieve ‘turn-over.’ An asymmetric hydrogenation mediated by Oppolzer’s sultam is used to demonstrate this concept. In order to achieve cycles such as the one discussed in Chapter two, the ability to telescope reactions in flow is paramount. However, solid handling challenges are frequent when transitioning to flow, leading to limitations in potential solvents or conditions in order to achieve homogeneity. This complicates the ability to telescope reactions, and to address this challenge the work in Chapter three focuses on the development of a general and simple solution to negate precipitation problems arising from precipitation of base·HX salts, a frequent reaction by-product of common reactions. By using bases that form low- to moderate-melting salts upon protonation, precipitation is precluded while reactions are performed above the melting point of the base·HX salt. This is shown to be applicable for a wide variety of substitution reactions and allow facile reaction telescoping. Chapter four focus on overcoming severe scope limitations in palladium catalyzed transformations that result when rapid background reactions deplete the nucleophilic coupling partner faster than catalyst turnover. This work starts with real-time MS investigations to investigate why slow addition of Grignard or organolithium nucleophiles facilitates substantial scope expansion in Kumada-Corriu or Murahashi cross-couplings, and then uses the information gleaned from these studies to significantly expand the accessible scope of palladium catalyzed aryl halide–diazo cross-coupling, through controlled addition of the diazo reagent at a rate that approximates aryl halide oxidative addition, in combination with on-demand flow synthesis of non-stabilized diazo reagents. Chapter five focuses on improving efficiency in the collection of kinetic data in flow, by developing a reaction cycling reactor. Conversion over time data is obtained by passing a discrete reaction slug back-and-forth between two residence coils, with analysis performed each time the solution passes from one coil to the other. In contrast to a traditional steady state flow system, which requires >5 X the total reaction time to collect data, this reactor design collects all the data during a single reaction. Multiple reactions can also be monitored at the same time by performing multiple reactions as sequential slugs in the reactor. The reactor is demonstrated by application to a wide variety of transformations and different methods of kinetic analysis.