Microwave treatment can reduce the time of selected syntheses, for instance of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), from several hours to a few minutes. We propose a microfluidic structure for enhancing the rate of chemical reactions using microwave energy. This reactor is designed to control microwave energy with much higher accuracy than in standard devices. Thanks to this, the influence of microwave irradiation on the rate of chemical reactions can be investigated. The reactor consists of a transmission line surrounded by ground metallization. In order to deliver microwave energy to the fluid under test efficiently, matching networks are used and optimized by means of numerical methods. The monolithic device is fabricated in the low temperature co-fired ceramics (LTCC) technology. This material exhibits excellent microwave performance and is resistant to many chemical substances as well as high temperatures. Fabrication of the devices is described in detail. Measurements of microwave parameters are performed and differences between simulation and experiment results are discussed. Finally, the usefulness of the proposed device is proved in exemplary synthesis.
Keywords: low temperature co-fired ceramics (LTCC); microfluidics; microwave chemistry.