Preparation of a Catalytic Reactor Composed of a Microchannel Etched on a Silicon Wafer

Abstract

A Microchannel (upper width=280μm, lower width=138μm, depth=100μm, length=27mm) was formed on a (100) silicon wafer by means of wet chemical etching, and a platinum layer was then coated on the microchannel walls by sputtering. The resulting channel was sealed with a glass cover by an anodic bonding technique. Cyclohexane vapor, carried by a stream of nitrogen, was then introduced into the microreactor at 400°C, and the concentrations of both the reactant, and the products of the ensuing dehydrogenation reaction over the platinum catalyst, were determined by means of a micro gas chromatograph. Thus, a series of procedures for manufacturing and testing a microreactor, such as lithography of a microchannel, the formation of a catalytic Pt film, the introduction of a reactant into the covered microchannel, or an analysis of reactants and products, was established and verified.