Photothermal Synergistic Chlorination of Ethylene Carbonate in a Solvent-Free Microchannel Reactor

The photothermal chlorination of ethylene carbonate (EC) using liquid chlorine and benzoyl peroxide (BPO) initiator offers a green approach to C-H chlorination. However, batch reactors present challenges including prolonged reaction times and low chlorine utilization efficiency. These limitations may be effectively overcome through microchannel reactor technology. This study developed a green, safe process for selectively chlorinating EC to chloroethylene carbonate (CEC). In the microchannel reactor, liquid chlorine served as chlorinating agent and BPO as initiator under UV irradiation. After parameter optimization, the optimal conditions achieved 99.5% EC conversion and 84.1% CEC yield.