Composite Polymer/Oxide Hollow Fiber Contactors: Versatile and Scalable Flow Reactors for Heterogeneous Catalytic Reactions in Organic Synthesis

Flexible composite polymer/oxide hollow fibers are used as flow reactors for heterogeneously catalyzed reactions in organic synthesis. The fiber synthesis allows for a variety of supported catalysts to be embedded in the walls of the fibers, thus leading to a diverse set of reactions that can be catalyzed in flow. Additionally, the fiber synthesis is scalable (e.g. several reactor beds containing many fibers in a module may be used) and thus they could potentially be used for the large‐scale production of organic compounds. Incorporating heterogeneous catalysts in the walls of the fibers presents an alternative to a traditional packed‐bed reactor and avoids large pressure drops, which is a crucial challenge when employing microreactors.