Nanofiber Mats as Amine-Functionalized Heterogeneous Catalysts in Continuous Microfluidic Reactor Systems

Area of Science:

• Green Chemistry
• Materials Science
• Chemical Engineering

Background:

• Sustainable catalyst development is crucial for green chemistry.
• Tertiary amine-based polymers offer catalytic potential.
• Nanofiber structures can enhance catalyst accessibility and performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize photo-crosslinked polymer nanofibers for heterogeneous catalysis.
• To evaluate the performance of these nanofibers in a microfluidic reactor.
• To assess the sustainability and reusability of the developed catalytic system.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of a tertiary amine-based polymer functionalized with a photo-crosslinker.
• Electrospinning of polymer nanofibers using polycaprolactone (PCL) as a stabilizer.
• Photo-crosslinking to create hierarchically porous structures.
• Incorporation of nanofiber mats into a microfluidic reactor (MFR).
• Application in the Knoevenagel reaction of malononitrile with aldehydes.

Main Results:

• Hierarchically porous nanofibers with high swelling and surface area were produced.
• The MFR system demonstrated significantly improved NMR yields (40-60%) and turnover frequencies (50-80 h⁻¹).
• The catalyst exhibited reproducibility over three reaction cycles, indicating good reusability.

Conclusions:

• Electrospun, photo-crosslinked nanofibers are effective heterogeneous catalysts in microfluidic systems.
• This approach offers a sustainable method for producing valuable malononitrile derivatives.
• The study highlights the potential of advanced materials in green chemistry applications.