Videos

Beilstein TV: 3D-printed millifluidic reactionware for synthesis and analysis

3D printing has the potential to transform science and technology by creating bespoke, low-cost appliances that have previously required dedicated facilities. We utilize 3D design and 3D-printing techniques to fabricate a number of miniaturized fluidic “reactionware” devices for chemical syntheses in just a few hours. Starting from inexpensive materials we are able to produce reliable and robust reactors. Here we show a two-inlet reactor setup with pumps and in-line or on-line analytical techniques, such as IR spectroscopy, which is used to follow an imine condensation reaction, and mass spectrometry, which is used to characterize the complexation behavior of a cyclohexane-based ligand with copper (II) chloride.

Beilstein TV:3D-printed reactionware

3D printing affords the laboratory chemist unprecedented freedom to design and fabricate bespoke chemical reactors uniquely designed for specific purposes. This video demonstrates the design process of creating 3D-printed reactionware, and describes how we have used these devices to control not only the chemical environment of a reaction (the incorporation of catalysts and reagents into the structure of the reactor) but also to use the architecture of the chemical reactor itself to influence the trajectory of chemical reactions. The use of this design and fabrication process gives chemists control over their chemistry by manipulating the geometry, topology and composition of their reaction vessel for specific applications.