Cyclic enones as substrates in the Morita-Baylis-Hillman reaction: Surfactant interactions, scope and scalability with an emphasis on formaldehyde

Traditionally, cyclic enones and formalin are reactants notorious for displaying problematic behaviour (i.e., poor solubility and low yields) under Morita-Baylis-Hillman (MBH) reaction conditions. The body of research presented herein focuses on the use of surfactants in water as a solvent medium that offers a resolution to many of the issues associated with the MBH reaction. Reaction scope, scalability and small angle X-ray scattering have been studied to assist with the understanding of the reaction mechanism and industrial application. A comparison against known literature methods for reaction scale-up is also discussed.