An FEP Microfluidic Reactor for Photochemical Reactions

Organic syntheses based on photochemical reactions play an important role in the medical, pharmaceutical, and polymeric chemistry. For years, photochemistry was performed using high-pressure mercury lamps and immersion-wells. However, due to excellent yield, control of temperature, selectivity, low consumption of reagents and safety, the microreactors made of fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP) tubings have recently been used more frequently. Fluoropolymers are the material of choice for many types of syntheses due to their chemical compatibility and low surface energy. The use of tubing restricts the freedom in designing 2D and 3D geometries of the sections of the microreactors, mixing sections, etc., that are easily achievable in the format of a planar chip. A chip microreactor made of FEP is impracticable to develop due to its high chemical inertness and high melting temperature, both of which make it difficult (or impossible) to bond two plates of polymer. Here, we demonstrate a ‘click’ system, where the two plates of FEP are joined together mechanically using a tenon and a mortise. The concept was presented by us previously for a preparation polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) microreactor (Szymborski et al. Sensors Actuators, B Chem. 2017, doi:10.1016/j.snb.2017.09.035). Here, we use the same strategy for FEP plates, test the use of the chips in photochemistry and also describe a custom-designed non-transparent polyethylene (PE) mask-holder with a circular opening to guide and focus the ultraviolet (UV) illumination. The solutions that we describe offer tight microreactor chips, preventing any leakage either of the liquid reagents or of UV light outside the reactor. This allows for conducting photochemical synthesis without a fume hood and without special protection against UV radiation.