Application note 56: photodecarboxylative addition of phenylacetic acid to N-methyl phthalimide

This application note illustrates the use of the Vapourtec UV-150 photochemical reactor for the photodecarboxylative benzylation of N-methylphthalimide. The transformation has been systematically optimized in terms of reagent concentration and residence time. The optimized procedure was subsequently performed on large-scale, achieving a productivity of 1.34 g (88%) of product per hour (or 32.16 g per day). The reactor enabled continuous photochemistry in an easy-to-use, safe and efficient manner.