Droplet-based Microfluidic Device for the Synthesis of Silica Nanoparticles

Microfluidic reactors are advantageous for nanomaterial synthesis due to their capability to provide controlled reaction environment. In this work, a droplet based microfluidic reactor is designed for the synthesis of silica nanoparticles. The synthesis is carried out in a very controlled environment and a uniform size and shape distribution is achieved. The classical synthesis protocol for silica nanoparticles is modified to use nonpolar solvents in the reaction so that this platform can later be used for coating hydrophobic nanomaterials. Therefore, this study not only presents a new device but also a new synthesis method. The results are compared with conventional batch wise synthesis methods and the obtained nanoparticles showed better size distribution.