Continuous flow ozonolysis using atmospheric plasma

Ozonolysis is widely used in organic synthesis to obtain aldehydes and ketones from alkenes, a process of great interest, for example, for the pharmaceutical industry. This reaction is more environmentally accepted than other alternative oxidations and it has good atom efficiency. Ozonolysis, however, has an important drawback; the ozonides generated as intermediates in the process are unstable and pose a risk of explosion. To minimize this risk, continuous flow processing can be used, as this eliminates the accumulation of large amounts of hazardous intermediates, thereby offering an alternative to batch processing that greatly enhances the control and safety of the ozonolysis process.1,2 Here we report on the results obtained with an air plasma-driven continuous-flow ozonolysis system. (... continues)