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 mum, length = 27 mm) uas formed on a (100) silicon wafer by means of wet chemical etching, and a platinum layer was then coated on the microchannel walls by sputtering. The resulting channel was sealed with a glass cover by an anodic bonding technique. Cyclohexane vapor, carried by a stream of nitrogen, was then introduced into the microreactor at 400 degreesC, and the concentrations of both the reactant, and the products of the ensuing dehydrogenation reaction over the platinum catalyst, were determined by means of a micro gas chromatograph. Thus, a series of procedures for manufacturing and testing a microreactor, such as lithography of a microchannel, the formation of a catalytic Pt film, the introduction of a reactant into the covered microchannel, or an analysis of reactants and products, was established and verified.