We build microfluidic reactors that use droplet flows to generate high-quality precious metal nanoparticles. By customizing the surface chemistry of the microfluid channels, we are able to generate stable droplets at unusual high flow rates. The image above compares droplet formation at high flow rate in an uncoated channel (red outline) to that in a coated channel (blue outline) maximizing the droplet throughput allows us to build devices that can produce an industrially relevant yeild of nanoparticles.
Ongoing work on this project involves the development of new chemistry targets for microreactors and the creation of schemes for massive microfluidic parallelization. Massive parallelization has the potential to transform microreactors into a major industrial chemical technology.
Droplet microflows can produce small and highly uniform metal nanoparticles.
3D-printed device geometries allow for highly stable and uniform droplet formation.