Droplet-based microreactors for nanoparticles

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11167350-B2
Application number	US-201916390439-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 22, 2019
Priority date	Apr 23, 2018
Publication date	Nov 9, 2021
Grant date	Nov 9, 2021

Abstract

Different Au—Pd nanoparticles, ranging from sharp-branched octopods to core@shell octahedra, can be achieved by inline manipulation of reagent flowrates in a microreactor for seeded growth. Significantly, these structures represent different kinetic products, demonstrating an inline control strategy toward kinetic nanoparticle products that should be generally applicable.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A microreactor comprising:
a plurality of syringes, each syringe placed on a syringe pump;
tubing connected to each syringe;
capillaries connected to the tubing, an end of the capillaries meeting at an injector site of a respective syringe; and
a heating element, the tubing positioned in the heating element to heat the tubing, wherein droplets from the tubing are collected in a centrifuge vial after exiting the tubing.

2. The microreactor of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of syringes includes four syringes.

3. The microreactor of claim 2 , wherein three of the four syringes contain reagents and one of the syringes contains silicone oil.

4. The microreactor of claim 3 , wherein a flowrate of a reagent through the tubing is 1.8 mL per hour.

5. The microreactor of claim 3 , wherein a first reagent includes H2PdCl4.

6. The microreactor of claim 5 , wherein a second reagent includes Au nanocubes.

7. The microreactor of claim 6 , wherein a third reagent includes L-aa.

8. The microreactor of claim 1 , wherein:
the tubing includes polytetrafluoroethylene; and
the capillaries include silica capillaries.

9. The microreactor of claim 1 , wherein the tubing has an inner diameter of approximately 1.58 millimeters.

10. The microreactor of claim 1 , wherein the capillaries have an inner diameter of approximately 0.250 millimeters.

11. The microreactor of claim 1 , wherein the heating element has a temperature of approximately 55° C.

12. A method for nanoparticle synthesis comprising:
placing a plurality of syringes on a syringe pump;
connecting tubing to each syringe;
connecting capillaries to the tubing so that ends of the capillaries meet at an injector site of a respective syringe;
positioning the tubing in a heating element to heat the tubing;
controlling a flowrate of a reagent through the tubing; and
collecting droplets from the tubing in a centrifuge vial after exiting the tubing.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein placing a plurality of syringes on a syringe pump includes placing four syringes on the syringe pump.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:
filling three of the four syringes with reagents; and
filling one of the syringes with silicone oil.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein controlling the flowrate of a reagent through the tubing further comprises adjusting the flowrate of the reagent through the tubing to 1.8 mL per hour.

16. The method of claim 14 , wherein filling three of the four syringes with reagents further comprises filling a first syringe with a reagent that includes H2PdCl4.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein filling three of the four syringes with reagents further comprises filling a second syringe with a reagent that includes Au nanocubes.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein filling three of the four syringes with reagents further comprises filling a third syringe with a reagent that includes L-aa.

19. The method of claim 12 , wherein:
connecting tubing to each syringe further comprises connecting polytetrafluoroethylene tubing to each syringe; and
connecting capillaries to the tubing further comprises connecting silica capillaries to the tubing.

20. The method of claim 12 , further comprising heating the heating element to a temperature of approximately 55° C.

Assignees

• Univ Indiana Trustees

Inventors

• Santana Joshua S
• Skrabalak Sara E

Classifications

• B22F1/0553

  Complex form nanoparticles, e.g. prism, pyramid, octahedron · CPC title

• B22F2304/05

  Submicron size particles · CPC title

• B01J2219/00961

  Temperature · CPC title

• B01J2219/00894

  More than two inlets · CPC title

• B22F2999/00

  Aspects linked to processes or compositions used in powder metallurgy · CPC title