Membrane-assisted catalysis in organic media

1School of Chemical Engineering & Analytical Science, The University of Manchester, The Mill, Sackville Street, Manchester M13 9PL, United Kingdom

2Department of Organic Chemistry and Technology, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, PO Box 91, H-1521 Budapest, Hungary

3Compound Profiling Laboratory, Chemical Works of Gedeon Richter Plc., PO Box 27, H-1475 Budapest, Hungary

Adv. Mater. Lett., 2017, 8 (12), pp 1094-1124

DOI: 10.5185/amlett.2017.1541

Publication Date (Web): Sep 08, 2017

Copyright © IAAM-VBRI Press

E-mail: gyorgy.szekely@manchester.ac.uk

Abstract

In the last decades, the rapid advancement of solvent-resistant membranes and catalysis led to the development of more efficient and sustainable materials and processes. The present article critically assesses membrane-assisted catalysis in organic media, which is a multidisciplinary field combining materials science, reaction engineering, organic chemistry, and membrane science and technology. The membranes act either as catalysts directly accelerating the rate of the reaction or as selective barriers for separating homogeneous catalysts from the reaction mixture. The discussions are grouped based on the catalyst type, and introductory tables given for each group allow direct comparison of the literature with regards to reaction type, solvent(s) employed, type of membrane, catalyst rejection, highest conversion and volumetric productivity. Major achievements, limitations and inconsistencies in the field are presented along with future research directions and requirements.

Keywords

Nanofiltration, catalysis, microfluidics, catalyst recovery, pharmaceuticals, biocatalysis, membrane reactors.