Droplet-based microreactors for nanoparticles

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2019321895-A1
Application number	US-201916390439-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Apr 22, 2019
Priority date	Apr 23, 2018
Publication date	Oct 24, 2019
Grant date	—

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

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

• B01J2219/00862

  Dimensions of the reaction cavity itself · CPC title

• B01J2219/00813

  Fluidic connections · CPC title

• B01J2219/00959

  Flow · CPC title

• B01J2219/00873

  Heat exchange · CPC title