Non-Aqueous Continuous-Flow Electrophoresis (NACFE): Separation Complement for Continuous-Flow Organic Synthesis

14 March 2019, Version 1
This content is a preprint and has not undergone peer review at the time of posting.

Abstract

Continuous-flow organic synthesis naturally requires continuous-flow separation of reaction components. The most common continuous-flow separation approach is liquid-liquid extraction based on differential distribution of molecules between organic and aqueous phases. This approach has limited selectivity; it can hardly separate different hydrophobic organic molecules from each other. Continuous-flow electrophoresis can facilitate much more selective separation in a single phase, but it is currently limited to aqueous electrolytes which are incompatible with many hydrophobic organic molecules. Further, water electrolysis in aqueous electrolytes results in generation of large volumes of gas making steady-state operation a major technical challenge. Here, we introduce non-aqueous continuous-flow electrophoresis (NACFE) in which the electrolyte is a solution of an organic salt in an aprotic organic solvent. We demonstrate that NACFE can maintain stable separation of multiple species during 10 hours. The non-aqueous nature of NACFE and its ability to support steady-state operation make it suitable for its incorporation into continuous-flow organic synthesis.

Keywords

continuous-flow organic synthesis
continuous-flow separation
non-aqueous continuous-flow electrophoresis
cyclic carbonates
tetraalkylammonium salts

Supplementary materials

Title
Description
Actions
Title
supportinginformation
Description
Actions
Title
angulagrams
Description
Actions
Title
angulagrams10h
Description
Actions
Title
geometry
Description
Actions
Title
plots
Description
Actions
Title
programs
Description
Actions
Title
rawfiles
Description
Actions
Title
rawfilescurrent
Description
Actions
Title
video10h
Description
Actions
Title
videocurrent
Description
Actions

Comments

Comments are not moderated before they are posted, but they can be removed by the site moderators if they are found to be in contravention of our Commenting Policy [opens in a new tab] - please read this policy before you post. Comments should be used for scholarly discussion of the content in question. You can find more information about how to use the commenting feature here [opens in a new tab] .
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy [opens in a new tab] and Terms of Service [opens in a new tab] apply.