Flow Reactor System with Integrated Liquid Plug Characterization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current flow reactor systems are inefficient in synthesizing and characterizing new materials, as they focus primarily on synthesis with separate characterization processes, leading to low throughput and tedious procedures.
Innovation Solution
A flow reactor system comprising liquid pumps, a fluid pump for an immiscible carrier fluid, a fluidic mixer, a measurement device, and a control module that adjusts flow conditions based on measured properties of liquid plugs formed from mixed reagents, enabling continuous synthesis and characterization with high throughput.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If separate synthesis and characterization processes are used, then material synthesis can be performed, but throughput is low and the process is tedious
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines synthesis and characterization functions into a single integrated flow reactor system. The flow reactor performs chemical synthesis while the integrated measurement device simultaneously characterizes the reaction mixture, eliminating the need for separate processes and thereby increasing throughput while reducing overall process complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The flow reactor system is designed with multi-functionality, serving both as a synthesis device and a characterization platform. The measurement device can detect multiple properties (absorbance, fluorescence, etc.) of the reaction mixture, making the system universal for both creating and analyzing materials in a single continuous process.
2Productivity
If continuous flow synthesis is used, then throughput increases, but integration of characterization is lacking
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the continuous flow synthesis capability with characterization capabilities by positioning measurement devices directly in the flow path. This allows the system to maintain high throughput from continuous flow while simultaneously acquiring characterization data, thus combining the advantages of both approaches.
Solution Approach 2:
The flow reactor system uses the flowing reaction mixture itself as an intermediary that carries both the synthesized material and the characterization information. The measurement device detects properties of this intermediate stream, enabling simultaneous synthesis and characterization without disrupting the continuous flow process.
3Measurement precision
If multiple measurement parameters are detected, then material characterization is enhanced, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The measurement device is designed with multi-functionality to detect multiple parameters (absorbance, fluorescence, scattering) using a unified detection platform. This universal approach allows enhanced characterization accuracy without proportionally increasing system complexity, as the same device structure serves multiple measurement purposes.
Solution Approach 2:
The flow reactor system's continuous flow nature allows the measurement device to automatically sample and analyze the reaction mixture as it passes through. The system self-services by continuously providing fresh reaction mixture to the measurement device, eliminating the need for complex manual sampling and analysis procedures while maintaining high measurement precision.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system allows for high-throughput generation of liquid plugs and thin films, optimizing reaction conditions using machine learning to accelerate material discovery and reduce research and development time in fields like semiconductor thin films and polymer synthesis.
Implementation Method 1
a fluidic mixer for mixing the liquid reagents into a liquid mixture
Implementation Method 2
a fluid pump for communicating a carrier fluid that is immiscible with the liquid reagents; the liquid mixture is discharged from the outlet as a series of liquid plugs separated by the carrier fluid
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure generally relates to a flow reactor system (100) and a flow reaction method (200). The flow reactor system (100) comprises liquid pumps (110) for communicating liquid reagents based on a set of flow conditions, a fluid pump (200) for communicating a carrier fluid that is immiscible with the liquid reagents; a fluidic mixer (130) for mixing the liquid reagents into a liquid mixture, a measurement device (150) for measuring properties of liquid plugs (140) discharged from an outlet (136) of the fluidic mixer (130); and a control module configured for controlling the liquid pumps (110) and adjusting the flow conditions based on the measured properties of the liquid plugs (140), wherein the liquid plugs (140) are representative of different flow conditions.