Continuous synthesis and transformation of diazomethane

Abstract

Diazomethane is the simplest diazo compound with high reactivity and is an exceptionally versatile C1-building block. However, diazomethane’s application is greatly limited due to its special properties such as highly toxic, carcinogenic, inflammable and explosive. The application of the one-pot reaction and emerging continuous flow technology in the field of hazardous chemicals enable the generated diazomethane to be directly consumed and transformed, effectively ensuring the safety of the reaction process and providing the possibility for its mass production and use. According to the different precursors of diazomethane, the applications of diazomethane in continuous synthesis and in situ transformation in laboratory and industry are systematically summarized.