Accelerated Chemical Reactions and Organic Synthesis in Leidenfrost Droplets

Many chemical reactions occur on elongated timelines that are either too impractical or inconvenient to be of any use by industry or academia. Fortunately there are multiple methods to increase the reaction speed. One of the most commonly used methods in small scale reactions is to place the reactants in electrosprayed particles. This method has a few main drawbacks, including its small size and the use of charged particles, leaving considerable room for improvement.

When confronted with this problem, researchers at Purdue University developed a novel approach to reaction acceleration using the Leidenfrost effect. The Leidenfrost effect is a physical phenomenon that occurs when a liquid is brought in close contact with a substance with a temperature that is significantly higher than the liquid's boiling point. This causes an insulating layer of vapor to form, which causes the liquid to levitate and prevents it from rapidly evaporating. This effect, also known as film boiling, accelerates reactions because of interfacial interactions between the heated surface and the reactants. It has the potential to accelerate various organic reactions by a factor of up to 50.

Advantages:

-Can be used in small scale testing

-Easily scaled up

-Optimizes acceleration

-Droplets are neutral vs. charged

-Leidenfrost droplets are larger than electrosprayed particles

Potential Applications

-Reaction engineering

-Chemistry

-Organic reactions

TRL: 4

Intellectual Property:

Keywords: Leidenfrost effect, reaction acceleration, film boiling, electrosprayed particles, chemical reactions, organic reactions, reaction engineering, small scale testing, levitation, vapor layer, Chemistry and Chemical Analysis, Electrospray, Organic Chemistry