A microreactor array for spatially resolved measurement of catalytic activity for high-throughput catalysis science

Abstract

We describe a 100-channel microreactor array capable of spatially resolved measurement of catalytic activity across the surface of a flat substrate. When used in conjunction with a composition spread alloy film (CSAF, e.g., PdxCuyAu1−x−y) across which component concentrations vary smoothly, such measurements permit high-throughput analysis of catalytic activity and selectivity as a function of catalyst composition. In the reported implementation, the system achieves spatial resolution of 1mm2 over a 10×10mm2 area. During operation, the reactant gases are delivered at constant flow rate to 100 points of differing composition on the CSAF surface by means of a 100-channel microfluidic device. After coming into contact with the CSAF catalyst surface, the product gas mixture from each of the 100 points is withdrawn separately through a set of 100 isolated channels for analysis using a mass spectrometer. We demonstrate the operation of the device on a PdxCuyAu1−x−y CSAF catalyzing the H2–D2 exchange reaction at 333K. In essentially a single experiment, we measured the catalytic activity over a broad swathe of concentrations from the ternary composition space of the PdxCuyAu1−x−y alloy.