Organic Reaction Theory Lab

AboutAbout the lab

Controlling organic synthesis on a millisecond scale.

The Organic Reaction Theory Lab is pioneering the field of "high-speed organic chemistry," which accelerates synthetic chemistry.
For over 100 years, organic synthesis has relied on batch reactors, typified by the flask.
This lab uses flow microreactors, in which solutions flow through micrometer-scale channels, as its reactors.
It establishes reactions and synthetic methodologies that are difficult in flask chemistry, and uses them to create new functional molecules.

ResearchResearch themes

With the goal of speeding up synthetic chemistry (shortening reaction times), the lab pursues research and development using its own flow microreactors. From both the reaction side and the synthetic process side, it establishes reactions and methodologies that are hard to achieve in flask chemistry, and uses them to create new functional molecules.

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Using flow microreactors↗

A flow microreactor is a reactor in which a solution flows through micrometer-scale channels and reacts. Because diffusion distances are short, mixing is faster by orders of magnitude, and residence time can be set on a millisecond scale by changing the flow rate and channel volume. The large specific surface area also allows precise temperature control and rapid heating and cooling.

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Determining selectivity by mixing speed↗

In fast reactions in a flask, mixing cannot keep up with the reaction, which causes a problem called disguised chemical selectivity: the selectivity expected from kinetics is not obtained. The lab resolves this with high-speed micromixing, shows that even fast reactions can give selectivity that follows reaction kinetics, and works to apply this in organic synthesis.

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Mastering short-lived reactive species↗

Highly reactive chemical species can undergo fast reactions but are often unstable, and in a flask they decompose before they can be used. The lab handles them through "synthetic chemistry that controls time with space": generating them quickly in a flow microreactor, moving them to another space before they decompose, and reacting them with the next reagent.

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Using solid catalysts in flow channels↗

If solid catalysts can be used inside a flow reactor, the catalyst can be reused and separated from the product easily. However, packing in the catalyst creates a large pressure drop inside the reactor, which prevents raising the flow rate. The lab approaches this problem by asking which support to use and how to immobilize the catalyst on it.

VoicesStudent voices

Compiled from answers by students who were in the lab. Ratings and reviews reflect individual students' experiences, not the lab's official views.

Students who take part in an interview may receive a thank-you gift worth ¥1,000, regardless of what they say.