MicroParticleControl · Controlled synthesis of particulate matter in microfluidics

Despite the many advantages of microchemical systems and their successful applications in chemicalengineering research, one major drawback greatly limiting their use is their susceptibility to channel cloggingfor flows containing particulate matter. Hence, the aim of the proposed research is to overcome the challengeof clogging in microfluidic devices and to design microfluidic systems that can tolerate particulate matterand synthesize solid materials according to their specifications (e.g. size, purity, morphology). To reach thisgoal, we apply a combined experimental and theoretical approach, in which the experimental results will leadto model development reflecting the particle formation and interaction kinetics and their coupling to thehydrodynamics. The novel concept of the proposal is to devise engineering strategies to handle theparticulate matter inside the reactor depending on if the solid material is i) an unwanted and insoluble by-productof a reaction, or ii) the target compound (e.g. nanoparticle synthesis or crystallization of organicmolecules). Depending on the case we will design different ultrasound application strategies and introducenucleation sites to control the location of particle formation within the microchannel. This project willprovide fundamental insight into the physico-chemical phenomena that result in particle formation, growthand agglomeration processes in continuous flow microdevices, and will provide a theoretical tool for theprediction of the dynamics of particle-particle, particle-wall and particle-fluid interactions, leading toinnovative microreactor designs.