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below explains the fabrication of silicon and 3D printed stainless steel microreactors used for our research to screen catalysts for FT synthesis.
2.2 Fabrication of Silicon Microreactor
The fabrication process of a Si-microreactor has been discussed extensively elsewhere [30, 31]. To fabricate a microdevice on a silicon wafer, a photomask needs to
be designed. A photomask is an opaque chromium plate with clear features called
transparencies that let light (UV-light) pass through to transfer the pattern onto the
photoresist layer. This is generally termed as photolithography. Figure 2 shows two
Table 1 Advantages and disadvantages of different materials for microreactor fabrication
Material Advantages
Disadvantages
Dimensions
Silicon
− Production of complex
and 3-dimensional
microchannel network
− Good mechanical
strength and temperature
control
− Good heat and mass
transfer
− Good chemical
compatibility
− Large fabrication
infrastructure
− Brittle nature of silicon leads
to difficult sealing especially for
gas-phase high-pressure
reactions
Nanometer to
sub-micrometer
Polymer − Easy to manufacture
− Low-cost production
− Disposable devices for
biocompatible reactions
− Limited chemical
compatibility
− Poor thermal stability
Typically submicrometer range
Glass
− Good thermal stability
− Favorable for
photochemical reactions
− Reactions are visible
due to reactor
transparency
− Offers highest chemical
compatibility
− Large infrastructure to
fabricate dimensions in the
nanometer range
− Leak tight connections for
very high-temperature
applications
Nanometer to
sub-micrometer
Stainless
steel
− No need for large
infrastructure (cleanroom)
− Easy to design and
fabricate, for example, 3D
printing technique
− Favorable for
high-pressure and
temperature reaction
systems
− Good sealing capability
for high-pressure
gas-phase reactions
− Feature size less than 500 μm
is challenging to fabricate
− Limited applications
Typically few
hundreds of
micrometers to
sub-millimeter
Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis in Silicon and 3D Printed Stainless Steel Microchannel…
below explains the fabrication of silicon and 3D printed stainless steel microreactors used for our research to screen catalysts for FT synthesis.
2.2 Fabrication of Silicon Microreactor
The fabrication process of a Si-microreactor has been discussed extensively elsewhere [30, 31]. To fabricate a microdevice on a silicon wafer, a photomask needs to
be designed. A photomask is an opaque chromium plate with clear features called
transparencies that let light (UV-light) pass through to transfer the pattern onto the
photoresist layer. This is generally termed as photolithography. Figure 2 shows two
Table 1 Advantages and disadvantages of different materials for microreactor fabrication
Material Advantages
Disadvantages
Dimensions
Silicon
− Production of complex
and 3-dimensional
microchannel network
− Good mechanical
strength and temperature
control
− Good heat and mass
transfer
− Good chemical
compatibility
− Large fabrication
infrastructure
− Brittle nature of silicon leads
to difficult sealing especially for
gas-phase high-pressure
reactions
Nanometer to
sub-micrometer
Polymer − Easy to manufacture
− Low-cost production
− Disposable devices for
biocompatible reactions
− Limited chemical
compatibility
− Poor thermal stability
Typically submicrometer range
Glass
− Good thermal stability
− Favorable for
photochemical reactions
− Reactions are visible
due to reactor
transparency
− Offers highest chemical
compatibility
− Large infrastructure to
fabricate dimensions in the
nanometer range
− Leak tight connections for
very high-temperature
applications
Nanometer to
sub-micrometer
Stainless
steel
− No need for large
infrastructure (cleanroom)
− Easy to design and
fabricate, for example, 3D
printing technique
− Favorable for
high-pressure and
temperature reaction
systems
− Good sealing capability
for high-pressure
gas-phase reactions
− Feature size less than 500 μm
is challenging to fabricate
− Limited applications
Typically few
hundreds of
micrometers to
sub-millimeter
Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis in Silicon and 3D Printed Stainless Steel Microchannel…