Comparison between phase transfer catalysis and micellar catalysis
Catalysis at liquid-liquid interfaces

A comparison of the two methods presented, PTC phase transfer catalysis and micellar catalysis, highlights the difference in the number of reactions that could be carried out by either of them:

• phase transfer catalysis thus appears to offer a wealth of synthetic possibilities;

• micellar catalysis seems more suitable for kinetic and fundamental studies.

In practice, this needs to be tempered, as the qualities of PTC in the laboratory (two-phase system) sometimes become shortcomings on an industrial scale (difficult stirring of large volumes of immiscible liquids, high cost of catalysts). What's more, the qualities of microemulsions (spontaneous microemulsification, very broad interfaces) make them extremely interesting media whose exploration is only just beginning....