CONSPECTUS: The previous decade has witnessed the expeditious uptake of flow chemistry techniques in modern synthesis laboratories, and flow-based chemistry is poised to significantly impact our approach to chemical preparation. The advantages of moving from classical batch synthesis to flow mode, in order to address the limitations of traditional approaches, particularly within the context of organic synthesis are now well established. Flow chemistry methodology has led to measurable improvements in safety and reduced energy consumption and has enabled the expansion of available reaction conditions. Contributions from our own laboratories have focused on the establishment of flow chemistry methods to address challenges associated with the assembly of complex targets through the development of multistep methods employing supported reagents and in-line monitoring of reaction intermediates to ensure the delivery of high quality target compounds. Recently, flow chemistry approaches have addressed the challenges associated with reactions utilizing reactive gases in classical batch synthesis. The small volumes of microreactors ameliorate the hazards of high-pressure gas reactions and enable improved mixing with the liquid phase. Established strategies for gas-liquid reactions in flow have relied on plug-flow (or segmented flow) regimes in which the gas plugs are introduced to a liquid stream and dissolution of gas relies on interfacial contact of the gas bubble with the liquid phase. This approach confers limited control over gas concentration within the liquid phase and is unsuitable for multistep methods requiring heterogeneous catalysis or solid supported reagents. We have identified the use of a gas-permeable fluoropolymer, Teflon AF-2400, as a simple method of achieving efficient gas-liquid contact to afford homogeneous solutions of reactive gases in flow. The membrane permits the transport of a wide range of gases with significant control of the stoichiometry of reactive gas in a given reaction mixture. We have developed a tube-in-tube reactor device consisting of a pair of concentric capillaries in which pressurized gas permeates through an inner Teflon AF-2400 tube and reacts with dissolved substrate within a liquid phase that flows within a second gas impermeable tube. This Account examines our efforts toward the development of a simple, unified methodology for the processing of gaseous reagents in flow by way of development of a tube-in-tube reactor device and applications to key C-C, C-N, and C-O bond forming and hydrogenation reactions. We further describe the application to multistep reactions using solid-supported reagents and extend the technology to processes utilizing multiple gas reagents. A key feature of our work is the development of computer-aided imaging techniques to allow automated in-line monitoring of gas concentration and stoichiometry in real time. We anticipate that this Account will illustrate the convenience and benefits of membrane tube-in-tube reactor technology to improve and concomi...

A flow-through chemistry apparatus has been developed which allows gases and liquids to contact via a semipermeable Teflon AF-2400 membrane. In this preliminary investigation, the concept was proven by application to the ozonolysis of a series of alkenes.

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We report on the development of a continuous flow process for the palladium catalysed methoxycarbonylation of aryl, heteroaromatic and vinyl iodides and an aryl bromide using a Teflon AF-2400 based Tube-in-Tube reactor to mediate the selective permeation of carbon monoxide into solution at elevated pressures. The low volume of pressurised gas within the reactor (5.6 mL) offers the potential for an enhanced safety profile compared to batch processes. We also present preliminary results for the use of in situ FTIR to measure solution concentrations of carbon monoxide and demonstrate the use of a second reactor to effect the removal of carbon monoxide from the flow stream.The carbonyl group is integral to many of the key bond forming reactions of organic synthesis. 1 Its success is dependent upon the availability of methods to access carbonyl substrates, of which the transition metal-mediated insertion of carbon monoxide (CO) is one of the most efficient (Scheme 1). 2 Scheme 1 General transition metal-catalysed carbonyl insertion reaction. This atom-economical process combines the ready availability of CO, the ability to drive reactions to completion through pressurisation, and ease of workup (as the excess reagent is a gas), making this transformation particularly attractive to synthesis chemists. However, there still exists a general reluctance to use CO gas in research laboratories, and there are good reasons for this. The concerns relate to the pressurised containment, toxicity and flammable nature of this reactive gas input. As such the safe and scalable use of CO and other gases within laboratory synthesis programmes represents an unmet need. Flow chemistry (in which the substrates/reagents are continuously pumped through a relatively low volume reaction zone so that only a very small fraction of the total is exposed to the reaction conditions at any one time) has emerged as a new paradigm of chemical