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A compact 3D printed magnetically stirred tank reactor cascade coupled with a free impinging jet for continuous production of colloidal nanoparticles

Gkogkos, G; Storozhuk, L; Piovesan, J; Penny, MR; Hilton, ST; Thanh, NTK; Gavriilidis, A; (2024) A compact 3D printed magnetically stirred tank reactor cascade coupled with a free impinging jet for continuous production of colloidal nanoparticles. Chemical Engineering Science , 294 , Article 120081. 10.1016/j.ces.2024.120081. Green open access

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Abstract

Most colloidal nanoparticle production processes involve more than one step, such as particle nucleation, growth and stabilisation, that often take place at different time scales. Flow chemistry offers an attractive platform for nanoparticle synthesis, as it can provide excellent control of conditions for each individual step. In this work, a free impinging jet reactor (FIJR), known for its rapid mixing capability and fouling-proof operation, is followed by a cascade of 5 miniaturised (3 ml) continuous stirred tank reactors (mCSTR) that provides longer residence time and efficient temperature control for subsequent synthesis steps, while still being resistant to clogging due to active mixing. The small (0.1 mm) diameter nozzle design allowed the FIJR to provide excellent mixing even at relatively low flowrates (2 ml/min/jet). The mCSTR cascade was arranged in a vertical configuration (one tank on top of another), offering a compact design that is simple to use and requiring only one magnetic stirrer. It provided near-ideal macromixing with limited dead volumes and interconnections, as reflected by a residence time distribution comparable with the theoretical one for a CSTR cascade. Most parts of the reactor system were 3D printed with features that facilitated the assembly. The proposed FIJR design overcomes the accuracy limitations of 3D printing by combining it with micromilling to achieve one of the smallest FIJR reported and by allowing for rotation of the nozzles to easily resolve issues with jet alignment. The reactor system was employed for the synthesis of colloidal (∼10 nm size) silver nanoparticles via NaBH4 reduction of AgNO3, in a 0.06 g/day scale for 50 min continuous operation and (∼6 nm core size) iron oxide nanoparticles via co-precipitation of Fe3+/Fe2+, producing colloidally stable nanoparticles in a 16.1 g/day scale for over 2 h continuous operation.

Type: Article
Title: A compact 3D printed magnetically stirred tank reactor cascade coupled with a free impinging jet for continuous production of colloidal nanoparticles
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1016/j.ces.2024.120081
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ces.2024.120081
Language: English
Additional information: Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > UCL School of Pharmacy
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Chemical Engineering
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Chemistry
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > UCL School of Pharmacy > Pharma and Bio Chemistry
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Physics and Astronomy
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > London Centre for Nanotechnology
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10191370
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