A Novel High-Throughput Chaotic Advection Microreactor for the
Preparation of Uniform BaSO4 Nanoparticles
Abstract
Owing to high mixing efficiency, microreactors are used to synthesize
uniform BaSO4 nanoparticles, but application in industrial scale is
limited due to poor throughput. In this work, a high-throughput passive
four-stage asymmetric oscillating feedback microreactor using chaotic
mixing mechanism was developed to prepare BaSO4 nanoparticles of high
size uniformity. Three-dimensional unsteady simulations showed that
chaotic mixing could be induced by three unique secondary flows (i.e.,
vortex, recirculation, and oscillation), and the fluid oscillation
mechanism was examined in detail. Simulations and Villermaux-Dushman
experiments indicate that almost complete mixing in molecular level
could be achieved when total volumetric flow rate Qtotal was larger than
10 mL/min, and the prepared BaSO4 nanoparticles were with narrow
particle size distribution (PSD). Through the adjustment of Qtotal and
reactant concentrations, it is easy to control the average size. An
average size of 26 nm with narrow PSD could be achieved at Qtotal = 160
mL/min.