Online Kinetic Analysis of Reactions In a Microreactor System

In the conventional view of reaction analysis, batch reactions are thought to be significantly more efficient in generating time-course reaction data than flow reactions, which are generally limited to steady state studies.  The increased emphasis on flow chemistry requires a concurrent expansion of online measurement and experimental techniques for more effective reaction analysis.  Along similar lines, the use of silicon microreactors for process development allows for a more complete understanding of reaction behavior due to the improved temperature [1] and mixing control in the microscale [2], while simultaneously minimizing the consumption of reagents and solvents.  Inline monitoring using ATR-FTIR analysis offers the ability to quantify the concentration of reaction species in the reactor effluent continuously.  By taking advantage of these characteristics of silicon microreactors under conditions of low dispersion, successive fluid elements of the reactor may be treated as separate batch reactors.  By continuously manipulating the reaction flow rate and keeping track of the total reaction time of each fluid element, time-course data analogous to that conventionally found in batch reactors may be generated in flow systems.

References

[1]          Jensen, K. F. MRS Bulletin 2, 101–107 (2006).

[2]          deMello, A. J. Nature 442, 394–402 (2006).