Integrated 3D-printed reactionware for chemical synthesis and analysis

Symes, M.D., Kitson, P.J., Yan, J., Richmond, C.J., Cooper, G.J.T., Bowman, R.W., Vilbrandt, T. and Cronin, L. (2012) Integrated 3D-printed reactionware for chemical synthesis and analysis. Nature Chemistry, 4, pp. 349-354. (doi: 10.1038/nchem.1313)

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Abstract

Three-dimensional (3D) printing has the potential to transform science and technology by creating bespoke, low-cost appliances that previously required dedicated facilities to make. An attractive, but unexplored, application is to use a 3D printer to initiate chemical reactions by printing the reagents directly into a 3D reactionware matrix, and so put reactionware design, construction and operation under digital control. Here, using a low-cost 3D printer and open-source design software we produced reactionware for organic and inorganic synthesis, which included printed-in catalysts and other architectures with printed-in components for electrochemical and spectroscopic analysis. This enabled reactions to be monitored in situ so that different reactionware architectures could be screened for their efficacy for a given process, with a digital feedback mechanism for device optimization. Furthermore, solely by modifying reactionware architecture, reaction outcomes can be altered. Taken together, this approach constitutes a relatively cheap, automated and reconfigurable chemical discovery platform that makes techniques from chemical engineering accessible to typical synthetic laboratories.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Cronin, Professor Lee
Authors: Symes, M.D., Kitson, P.J., Yan, J., Richmond, C.J., Cooper, G.J.T., Bowman, R.W., Vilbrandt, T., and Cronin, L.
College/School:College of Science and Engineering > School of Chemistry
Journal Name:Nature Chemistry
ISSN:1755-4330
ISSN (Online):1755-4349
Published Online:15 April 2012

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