Microphotochemistry: photochemical synthesis in microstructured flow reactors

Abstract

[Extract] Over the last decades, microtechnology has received a great deal of attention. Its application rapidly grows in many areas, as evident, for example, in electronics and engineering. The development of microstructured devices for chemical reactions was observed only within the last 10 years. Miniaturization of chemical reactors offers many practical advantages of relevance to the pharmaceutical and fine chemicals industry. Also, the possibility of preparing chemicals in the required volume at the point of use neglects the need to store and transport hazardous materials. The small scales of microreactions make them additionally advantageous for green chemistry. Since light is regarded as a "clean reagent," organic photochemistry can Iikewise serve as a green synthetic method. The potential of organic photochemistry as a powerful synthesis mEthod is furthermore well documented, and a number of elegant chemo- and enantioselective transformations with high chemical and quantum yields have been realized. The combination of microtechnology and photochemistry, that is, microphotochemistry, thus represents a promising and appealing new concept (Figure 3.1).