Efficient ozonolysis of steroids via electrochemical ozone production coupled with microchannel reactor

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Authors: Yang Ding, Zhenyang Dong, Hailiang Zhou, Kai Li, Wei Guo, Yuhang Wang, Lihao Liu, Zujiang Yi, Zhengbin Zhang, Xing Zhong, Jianguo Wang
Cited by: 1
References: 68

Abstract

Abstract Ozonolysis offers a clean and selective route for CC bond cleavage, but conventional processes suffer from ozonide explosion hazards and poor mass transfer. Here, we integrate electrochemical ozone production (EOP) with continuous‐flow microchannel ozonolysis for the safe conversion of steroid substrates. A dual surfactant modified β‐PbO 2 electrocatalyst (β‐PbO 2 ‐CP) in a self‐developed ozone electrolyzer achieved high ozone generation efficiency with over 750 h stability. Precision‐engineered microchannel reactor intensified gas–liquid transfer via microscale bubble dynamics, affording 91.3% conversion and 98.1% selectivity for 17α‐methyltestosterone, which achieved a 33.7‐fold increase in space–time yield vs. batch reactor. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations revealed electrothermal flow modeling showed 42.6% lower peak temperature with 98.9% prediction accuracy in the ozone electrolyzer and elucidated gas–liquid behavior in microchannel reactor. This integrated platform demonstrates a controlled continuous‐flow approach suitable for pharmaceutical manufacturing, highlighting the potential of coupling EOP with flow chemistry for industrial oxidative processes.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Innovative Microfluidic and Catalytic Techniques Innovation Advanced oxidation water treatment Plasma Applications and Diagnostics

Publication details

Journal / source
AIChE Journal
Publisher
Wiley
Volume
72
Issue
5
Publication date
28 January 2026
Language
EN