Selective catalytic hydrogenation of the triple bond in acetylenic alcohols in a microcapillary reactor for fine organic synthesis

Abstract

The purpose of this work is to present our latest achievements in the design, synthesis and development of a new catalytic microreactor for the processes of selective and continuous synthesis of substances with added value that are used in fine organic synthesis and pharmaceutical industries. In this advanced device, metal nanoparticles are embedded in mesoporous materials, which are deposited in the form of highly active and selective catalytic films on the walls of capillary microchannels with diameters of 220 and 530 μm. In such microreactor systems, there is no subsequent separation of the catalyst, which facilitates continuous operation. Potentially the most stable coatings are crystalline or amorphous titanium dioxide based metal oxides synthesized by the sol-gel method and containing embedded catalytically active polymetallic nanoparticles. The catalytic properties and operational stability of capillary microreactors were investigated at atmospheric pressure and compared with conventional industrial batch reactors. The developed Pd50Zn50 /TiO2 coating showed a higher activity (1.5 gMBE·gPd–1·s–1) and selectivity (96.7 %) in comparison with the coatings described earlier in the literature and with the industrial Lindlar catalyst, and retained high catalytic performance after 88 hours of reaction.