Efficient Processing of Reactions Involving Diazonium Salts: Meerwein Arylation in an Impinging-Jet Reactor

This work reports a novel approach for performing high-throughput synthesis of Meerwein arylation in an impinging-jet reactor. The multistep reaction was performed in a single reactor via in situ diazonium salt generation followed by Meerwein arylation. The work involves many iterations between experiments and simulations (where we integrate simulating the flow, heat transfer, and reaction simultaneously) for optimization of conditions in an inverted impinging-jet reactor. The effect of design variables viz. catalyst concentration, inlet temperature, and monomer mole ratio on the yield of the desired product was studied in detail, and the simulation results were used to plan the continuous experiments. An infrared camera was used to monitor the transient reactor temperature for steady-state analysis. The lab-scale inverted impinging-jet reactor with over 93% isolated yield can offer a space-time yield of 277.78 tons/m3/day. The numbering-up of an inverted impinging-jet reactor can be an effective way for cleaner production of products through typical Meerwein arylation.