Towards the continuous production of Pt-based heterogeneous catalysts using microfluidic systems

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Chemical Engineering
• Catalysis

Background:

• Development of efficient heterogeneous catalysts is crucial for environmental applications like volatile organic compound (VOC) abatement.
• Ultra-small noble metal nanoparticles (<2 nm) offer high catalytic activity but are challenging to produce controllably and continuously.
• Mesoporous silica supports, such as SBA-15, are widely used due to their high surface area and ordered structure.

Purpose of the Study:

• To report the continuous production of ultra-small platinum-based heterogeneous catalysts using microfluidic reactors.
• To investigate the catalytic activity of these novel catalysts in VOC abatement.
• To compare the efficiency of microfluidic synthesis with traditional batch methods.

Main Methods:

• Utilized microfluidic reactors for the fast and controlled synthesis of ultra-small platinum nanoparticles (NPs) and alloyed NPs (PtPd, PtRu, PtRh).
• Developed a novel continuous and homogeneous loading method for catalytic NPs onto SBA-15 mesoporous supports.
• Assessed catalytic performance in n-hexane abatement, a model VOC, and conducted long-term stability tests.

Main Results:

• Achieved a 12-fold decrease in synthesis time for Pt NPs using microfluidics compared to batch production.
• Microfluidic system demonstrated twice the productivity (27 mg Pt NPs/h) versus batch reactors, with high Pt precursor conversion (90%).
• Catalysts produced via microfluidics exhibited high activity in VOC oxidation, with a 95% reduction in synthesis time and successful 30-hour continuous operation.

Conclusions:

• Microfluidic reactors offer a highly efficient platform for the continuous, controlled synthesis of advanced Pt-based heterogeneous catalysts.
• These catalysts demonstrate significant improvements in production time and productivity for VOC abatement applications.
• The developed microfluidic approach facilitates easier NP loading and minimizes post-treatment, paving the way for scalable catalyst manufacturing.