Photocyanation of pyrene across an oil/water interface in a polymer microchannel chip

Photocyanation of pyrene (PyH) across an oil/water interface was explored by using two types of polymer microchannel chip. The chips (channel depth of 20 microm and width of 100 microm) were fabricated on the basis of photolithography and an imprinting method, with micromachined silicon templates being used for imprinting. As a typical example of the photoreaction, an aqueous NaCN solution and a propylene carbonate solution of PyH and 1,4-dicyanobenzene were brought separately into a Y-structured microchannel chip with the same flow velocity by pressure driven flow. Light irradiation onto the whole of the channel chip by a high-pressure Hg lamp resulted in formation of 1-cyanopyrene (PyCN), as confirmed by GC-MS analysis of the oil phase. The results demonstrated that the interfacial photochemical reaction of PyH proceeded successfully along the water/oil solution flow in the microchannel. Under optimum conditions by using a three-layer channel chip, absolute PyCN yields as high as 73% were attained with a reaction time of 210 s.