Continuous flow mechanochemistry: reactive extrusion as an enabling technology in organic synthesis

Abstract

Rapid and wide-ranging developments have established mechanochemistry as a powerful avenue in sustainable organic synthesis. This is primarily due to unique opportunities which have been offered in solvent-free – or highly solvent-minimised – reaction systems. Nevertheless, despite elegant advances in ball-milling technology, limitations in scale-up still remain. This tutorial review covers the first reports into the translation from “batch-mode” ball-milling to “flow-mode” reactive extrusion, using twin-screw extrusion.