SINGLE PARTICLE DIAGNOSTICS: LIQUID PHASE HYDROGENATION REACTIONS INSIDE A MICROREACTOR

Abstract

When synthesizing solid particles for catalytic reactions, at the inter particle level, they present hetero- geneities that influence the final yield of the reaction. Microfluidic droplet microreactors have recently been used in single cell analysis for the screening of samples for further analysis, making them an excel- lent candidate as alternative method for the detailed study of single catalyst particles. This work reports the combination of a spectroscopic technique with a droplet microfluidic devices for the monitoring of a three-phase reaction, by collecting single catalyst particles in droplets for further analysis with Raman spectroscopy. The reduction of methylene blue was performed to test the diffusibility of H2 through the membrane of the microreactor. And following, the hydrogenation of phenylacetylene was used a the proof-of-principle reaction to study the heterogeneities between and within the catalyst particles in a microfluidic device combined with Raman spectroscopy. The work is divided into four chapters, the first chapter is the introduction where we talk about previous works that served as inspiration for this project, as well as the objective of the project. The second chapter includes the experimental part of the bulk reactions carried out to familiarize with the behaviors of the reactions. The third chapter talks about the design of the microreactor as well as its manufacturing process and finally the fourth chapter shows the results obtained from the reactions carried out in the microreactor.