Preparation of a catalytic reactor composed of a microchannel etched on a silicon wafer

A Microchannel (upper width = 280 mum, lower width = 138 mum, depth = 100 m um, length = 27 mm) uas formed on a (100) silicon wafer by means of wet che mical etching, and a platinum layer was then coated on the microchannel wal ls by sputtering. The resulting channel was sealed with a glass cover by an anodic bonding technique. Cyclohexane vapor, carried by a stream of nitrog en, was then introduced into the microreactor at 400 degreesC, and the conc entrations of both the reactant, and the products of the ensuing dehydrogen ation reaction over the platinum catalyst, were determined by means of a mi cro gas chromatograph. Thus, a series of procedures for manufacturing and t esting a microreactor, such as lithography of a microchannel, the formation of a catalytic Pt film, the introduction of a reactant into the covered mi crochannel, or an analysis of reactants and products, was established and v erified.