Microreactors
present innovative solutions for problems pertaining
to conventional reactors and therefore have seen successful application
in several industrial processes. Yet, its application in heterogeneously
catalyzed gas–liquid reactions has been challenging, mainly
due to the lack of an easy and flexible methodology for catalyst incorporation
inside these reactors. Herein, we report a facile technique for obtaining
small (<2 nm) and well-distributed catalytic nanoparticles on the
walls of silica-coated capillaries, that act as micro(channel) reactors.
These particles are formed in situ on the reactor walls using polyelectrolyte
multilayers (PEMs), built by layer-by-layer self-assembly. Manipulating
the PEMs’ synthesis condition gives easy control over metal
loading, without compromising on particle size. Both monometallic
(Au and Pd) and bimetallic (AuPd) nanoparticles were successfully
obtained using this technique. Finally, these catalytic microreactors
were found to exhibit exceptional activity for the direct synthesis
of hydrogen peroxide from H2 and O2.
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