Flow electrochemistry: a safe tool for fluorine chemistry
- Bethan Wintersona
- Tim Rennigholtza
- Thomas Wirtha
- aSchool of Chemistry, Cardiff University, Park Place, Main Building, Cardiff, Cymru/Wales, UK
Read the publication that featured this abstractThe heightened activity of compounds containing fluorine, especially in the field of pharmaceuticals, provides major impetus for the development of new fluorination procedures. A scalable, versatile, and safe electrochemical fluorination protocol is conferred. The strategy proceeds through a transient (difluoroiodo)arene, generated by anodic oxidation of an iodoarene mediator. Even the isolation of iodine(III) difluorides was facile since electrolysis was performed in the absence of other reagents. A broad range of hypervalent iodine mediated reactions were achieved in high yields by coupling the electrolysis step with downstream reactions in flow, surpassing limitations of batch chemistry. (Difluoroiodo)arenes are toxic and suffer from chemical instability, so the uninterrupted generation and immediate use in flow is highly advantageous. High flow rates facilitated productivities of up to 834 mg h−1 with vastly reduced reaction times. Integration into a fully automated machine and in-line quenching was key in reducing the hazards surrounding the use of hydrofluoric acid.
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The Vapourtec R-Series is, quite simply, unrivalled for flow chemistry
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The R-Series is undoubtedly the most versatile, modular flow chemistry system available today.
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The E-Series is a robust and affordable, entry level flow chemistry system designed for reliability and ease of use.