Flow chemistry has gained increasing amounts of attention in recent years due to
the advantages associated with the micro-environment in which this chemistry is
typically carried out. This includes enhanced mass- and heat-transfer, reduced
safety risks, and increased reproducibility of the obtained results. In addition,
special activation modes, such as photon- and electron-activation, benefit a lot from
the increased surface-to-volume ratio witnessed in micro-structured reactors. It is
for those same reasons that green and sustainable chemistry seems to be a perfect
match with microreactors.
In this collection of Topics in Current Chemistry, we have assembled 5 reviews
which highlight the benefits of flow chemistry for sustainable chemistry. The first
contribution, written by Cambie and Noël, details on the use of solar energy as the
ultimate green energy source to drive photochemical processes forward. Luisi and
his team discuss the use of supported catalysts in flow in a second chapter.
Supported catalysts are of great importance to the chemical industry as they allow to
enhance the recovery and reuse of these precious catalysts. In a third contribution,
Hone and Kappe discuss how oxygen, as the greenest oxidation source available to
us, can be used in a safe and reliable way using flow reactors. Another important
trend in current chemistry is the apparent transition from petrobased to biobased
chemicals. Monbaliu and coworkers have reviewed this field and provided guidance
for the use of flow reactors to capitalize the biobased economy. Finally, Su and his
team have shown that there are also strong arguments to carry out polymerizations
in flow.
We believe that this collection of review articles is exciting and will further
stimulate research in Sustainable Flow Chemistry. Finally, we would like to thank
Preface
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