Hydrogen is explosive – it’s one of the first things children learn in their chemistry classes.
This is a serious drawback for the catalytic hydrogenation of multiple bonds, one of the most widely used reactions in organic synthesis. But now Steven Ley and colleagues at the University of Cambridge, UK, have improved the safety profile of both homogeneous and heterogeneous catalytic hydrogenations using flow chemistry.
In their Chemical Science Edge article, the group describe their ‘Tube-in-Tube’ reactor/injector and a novel computer-assisted bubble counting technique to measure the levels of hydrogen uptake.
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Also of interest:
Ten key issues in modern flow chemistry – a ChemComm Highlight in Chemistry article by Andreas Kirschning and colleagues
