Bioengineering Graduate Program - Guest Seminar - Microreaction Engineering for Synthetic Organoelectrochemistry

Electroorganic synthesis has recently emerged as a powerful tool to drive the redox chemistry in place of conventional oxidants or reductants. It offers opportunities to access various molecule structures in a green and sustainable manner. In this talk, I would like to introduce a microfluidic redox‐neutral electrochemistry (µRN‐eChem) platform that is able to selectively couple highly reactive intermediates generated on two separate electrodes. The cathode and anode simultaneously generate the corresponding reactive intermediates, and selective transformation is facilitated by the rapid molecular diffusion across a microfluidic channel that outpaces the decomposition of the intermediates. This platform was demonstrated to have broad applicability to SET chemistry, including radical‐radical cross‐coupling, Minisci‐type reactions, and nickel‐catalyzed C(sp2)–O cross‐coupling. Additionally, to tackle the challenge of the endless reaction condition screening required during new electrochemistry development, a fully automated micro‐droplet electrochemistry screening platform was introduced. This platform is able to rapidly screen various electrochemistry conditions in 15 uL reaction droplet, which facilitates a material‐efficient screening process.