Droplet‐based microreactor for the production of micro/nano‐materials

Abstract

Droplet-based microreactors are of great interest to researchers due to their incredible ability in the synthesis of micro/nano-materials with multi-function and complex geometry. In recent years, a broad range of micro/nano-materials has been synthesized in dropletbased microreactors, which provide apparent advantages, such as better reproducibility, reliable automation, and accurate manipulation. In this review, we give a comprehensive and in-depth insight into droplet-based microreactors, covering fundamental research from droplet generation and manipulation to the applications of droplet-based microreactors in micro/nano-material generation. We also explore the outlook for droplet-based microreactors and challenges that lie ahead and give a possible effort direction. We hope this review will promote communications among researchers and entrepreneurs.

Droplet Navigation by Photothermal Pumping in an Optofluidic System

“…Droplets can act as functionalized compartments to carry chemical species, − undergo collective behavior, − facilitate high-throughput reactions, , and have many potential applications. ,− Accordingly, the manipulation of droplets in liquid environments, with most studies focused on the motion control of water droplets in the oil phase, has attracted significant attention owing to applications in bio-assays, analysis of enzymatic reaction dynamics, , and mimicking of cellular behavior. − In addition, the motion of oil droplets has been examined because of their use in small-scale non-aqueous reactions …”

Vortex flow evolution in a growing microdroplet during co-flow in coaxial capillaries

“…For the same reason of high surface-to-volume ratio, the heat transfer between the continuous phase and the microsystem is also very good, which results in an excellent control of the temperature in these systems. Using a microdroplet as a microreactor leads to a number of advantages over a microchannel filled with the reacting media [24][25][26][27][28][29][30] . On the foremost is the faster mixing of liquids achieved inside the microdroplet compared to the sluggish diffusion of species in the microchannel.…”

Three-Fluid Sequential Micromixing-Assisted Nanoparticle Synthesis Utilizing Alternating Current Electrothermal Flow

“…Mixing among different fluids represents a critical step for chemical reactions and nanoparticle (NP) synthesis. , Especially, micromixing-assisted chemical synthesis has attracted tremendous attention over the last decades and has been widely applied in diverse emerging frontiers including biosensing, , medicine, , and detection/analytical assays. , Various micromixing techniques have been demonstrated to be efficient to implement two-fluid mixing or segmented mixing. − However, three or more fluids are commonly needed in terms of complex chemical reactions, − such as multicomponent chemical synthesis, catalytic-aided reaction, and additive-stabilized particle synthesis . Thereby, multiple chemical micromixing and reactions provide capabilities to fabricate more complex molecular constituents.…”

“…Mixing among different fluids represents a critical step for chemical reactions and nanoparticle (NP) synthesis. 1,2 Especially, micromixing-assisted chemical synthesis has attracted tremendous attention over the last decades and has been widely applied in diverse emerging frontiers including biosensing, 3,4 medicine, 5,6 and detection/analytical assays. 7,8 Various micromixing techniques have been demonstrated to be efficient to implement two-fluid mixing or segmented mixing.…”