Construction of electrochemical flow reactor: Static mixing and micro-cell for dehydrogenation oxidation from TNT to 2,2′,4,4′,6,6′-hexanitrostilbene

Abstract

From the electrochemical synthesis in beakers to the application of electrochemical reactors, flow electrosynthesis has become more and more prominent in the field of organic synthesis. But for multi-feed reactions, the problem of efficient mixing in the electrochemical reactor remains unresolved. A novel electrolytic cell was devised to facilitate thorough mixing of various feedstocks during electrochemical oxidation. With structural optimization guided by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations, the choice of reaction channels was deliberated upon, alongside an elucidation of the mixing mechanism. The reactor's performance was assessed based on both mixing efficiency and electrochemical oxidation capability with the synthesis of 2,2′,4,4′,6,6′-hexanitrostilbene (HNS) serving as a model. The high efficiency of the electrochemical reactor was verified by the enhanced yield, purity, and faradaic efficiency of HNS. It is environmentally friendly and easy to realize industrial production.