Abstract
Microchannels were fabricated on both sides of a (100) silicon wafer (10 mm × 40 mm) by wet chemical etching after pattern transfer using a negative photoresist. The walls of the reactor channel (upper width = 400 μm, lower width = 280 μm, depth = 100 μm, and length = 78 mm) were coated by sputtering with a Pt layer for use as a catalyst. A heating element was installed in the channel on the opposite surface of the reactor channel, and a thermocouple was installed in a channel adjacent to the reactor. The reactor channel, as well as the reverse-side heating channel, was sealed with a glass plate by an anodic bonding technique so as to be gas-tight. The self-heating microreactor was then used for hydrogenation of benzene as a model reaction, and relevant kinetic data were obtained.
