Effect of reactor configurations on the Suzuki cross-coupling reaction using a carrageenan-based RhCl3 catalyst

RhCl3 was heterogenized into an iota-carrageenan polysaccharide support, and the effect of various reactor configurations on catalyst performance in a Suzuki cross-coupling reaction was studied. It was found that performing the reaction in a high-volume, well-agitated, mechanically mixed high volume reactor, or circulating the reaction mixture through the catalyst, which was placed in a tabular reactor, yielded higher product yields in comparison to magnetically stirring or shaking. In addition, the catalyst was also successfully recycled in all the systems. Moreover, the reaction solution in each reactor configuration did not contain any traces of rhodium, while elemental composition of the iota-based rhodium catalyst, ἰ-RhCl3, following the first and the second cycle in the glass tubular reactor was similar to the fresh ἰ-RhCl3 catalyst, demonstrating the high xerogel stability.