Enabling batch and microfluidic non-thermal plasma chemistry: reactor design and testing †

Roszkowska, P., Dickenson, A., Higham, J. E., Easun, T. L. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0713-2642, Walsh, J. L. and Slater, A. G. 2023. Enabling batch and microfluidic non-thermal plasma chemistry: reactor design and testing †. Lab on a Chip 23 (12) , pp. 2720-2728. 10.1039/d3lc00016h

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Abstract

Non-thermal plasma (NTP) is a promising state of matter for carrying out chemical reactions. NTP offers high densities of reactive species, without the need for a catalyst, while operating at atmospheric pressure and remaining at moderate temperature. Despite its potential, NTP cannot be used comprehensively in reactions until the complex interactions of NTP and liquids are better understood. To achieve this, NTP reactors that can overcome challenges with solvent evaporation, enable inline data collection, and achieve high selectivity, high yield, and high throughput are required. Here, we detail the construction of i) a microfluidic reactor for chemical reactions using NTP in organic solvents and ii) a corresponding batch setup for control studies and scale-up. The use of microfluidics enables controlled generation of NTP and subsequent mixing with reaction media without loss of solvent. The construction of a low-cost custom mount enables inline optical emission spectroscopy using a fibre optic probe at points along the fluidic pathway, which is used to probe species arising from NTP interacting with solvents. We demonstrate the decomposition of methylene blue in both reactors, developing an underpinning framework for applications in NTP chemical synthesis.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Chemistry
Additional Information:	License information from Publisher: LICENSE 1: URL: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/, Start Date: 2023-05-10
Publisher:	Royal Society of Chemistry
ISSN:	1473-0197
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	24 May 2023
Date of Acceptance:	8 May 2023
Last Modified:	29 Jun 2023 16:21
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/159921

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