Development of High-throughput Screening Reactor Using Microwave Heating and Screening of Solid Catalysts for Friedel-Crafts Reaction

The Friedel-Crafts reaction is a very important process with many uses in the synthesis of fine chemicals, intermediates and petrochemicals. Solid catalysts should be developed for improved environmental compatibility of these chemical processes. A high-throughput screening (HTS) system was developed using test tubes for the screening and optimizing of solid catalysts for the benzylation of anisole by benzyl alcohol. To eliminate the time consuming steps in the screening, microwave heating was applied instead of the conventional ohmic heating of the reactant liquid. Temperature of the liquid phase was 145°C after 3 min microwave irradiation. Experiments could be conducted safely under the boiling points of the reactants. Many types of solid catalysts were screened using this microwave HTS, and the order of activity was as follows: Sn, Fe cation exchanged montmorillonite > montmorillonite > Nafion >> zeolite ≈ silica alumina > titania > alumina, silica, magnesia.