LiquidWallCat · Embedding catalysts in liquid wall flow devices
Horizon Europe — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2023-05-01 → 2025-04-30
- EU contribution
- €172,963
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Embedding catalysts in liquid wall flow devices
Continuous flow processes for manufacturing fine chemicals, such as active pharmaceutical ingredients and agrochemicals, offer advantages over batch processes due to higher surface-to-volume ratios and precise reaction control, leading to higher yields and less waste; however, their large-scale use is limited by challenges in handling solids, which often clog small flow tubing. Recent work by the Hermans group and the startup Qfluidics introduced quadrupolar magnetic fields to trap ferrofluids—magnetic nanoparticle suspensions—along flow channel walls, creating deformable liquid tubes that prevent clogging and enable reactions with solids. To expand this technology, particularly by incorporating catalysis without introducing solid surfaces that risk clogging, the liquidwallcat project aimed to attach catalytic moieties directly to magnetic nanoparticles, focusing on creating a stable, catalytically active ferrofluid by using smaller nanoparticles and combining surfactants with catalysts for functionalization.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
Flow reactors offer benefits over batch reactions, such as precise control over conditions and high turnover numbers of catalysts through immobilization in packed beds. However, the small dimensions of the flow reactor lead to increased friction between solvent and reactor wall, which causes loss in efficiency. In addition, flow systems are vulnerable to reagents that may foul or clog the system. The host group recently developed microfluidic tubes with ferrofluid walls. The walls are kept in place by a quadrupolar arrangement of magnets, while their liquid nature diminishes the friction at the interface and prevents particles from clogging the system by temporarily expanding the microtube when necessary. In this project, I intend to improve on this system by embedding well-established catalysts immobilized on magnetite nanoparticles into the ferrofluid. This will allow us to achieve the high turnover numbers that are common for flow reactors containing immobilized catalysts, while benefiting from the low-friction and anti-clogging properties of the liquid wall tubes. In addition, I will perform mechanistic analysis of the newly developed flow reactions in liquid wall tubes. This will aid the broader scientific community to further expand the utility of this new technology. As such, the project promises important improvements in the field of flow chemistry. The highly interdisciplinary nature of the project allows me to fully apply my expertise in the field of catalysis, while benefiting from knowledge transfer in microfluidics, in which the host research group has an expertise.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- FUNDACION IMDEA NANOCIENCIA · MadridCoordinatorSpain
Links
- View on CORDIS
- DOI: 10.3030/101105624
- https://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/documents/downloadPublic?documentIds=080166e521aacb2d&appId=PPGMS
- https://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/documents/downloadPublic?documentIds=080166e5276104d3&appId=PPGMS
Data: CORDIS, © European Union