Monitoring phase transition of aqueous biomass model substrates by high-pressure and high-temperature microfluidics.

Aqueous-Phase Reforming (APR) is a promising hydrogen production method, where biomass is catalytically reformed under high pressure and high temperature reaction conditions. To eventually study APR, in this paper, we report a high-pressure and high-temperature microfluidic platform that can withstand temperatures up to 200°C and pressures up to 30 bar. As a first step, we studied the phase transition of four typical APR biomass model solutions, consisting of 10 wt% of ethylene glycol, glycerol, xylose or xylitol in MilliQ water.

Influence of the Water Phase State on the Thermodynamics of Aqueous-Phase Reforming for Hydrogen Production.

Hydrogen is a promising renewable energy source that can be produced from biomass using aqueous-phase reforming (APR). Here, using data obtained from AspenPlus and the literature, we evaluated the phase state, temperature-dependent enthalpy, and Gibbs free energy for the APR of small biomass model substrates. Phase equilibrium studies reveal that, under typical APR reaction conditions, the reaction mixture is in the liquid phase.

Nanometer-grooved topography stimulates trabecular bone regeneration around a concave implant in a rat femoral medulla model.

In the present study, a method was developed to reproduce two nanogrooved patterns (groove width/ridge width/depth: 150/150/50 nm and 200/800/70 nm) into cylindrical epoxy resin implants, which were subsequently coated with 20 nm of titanium. Also, implants with a conventional surface roughness (R=1.6 μm) were produced.

Building microscopic soccer balls with evaporating colloidal fakir drops.

Evaporation-driven particle self-assembly can be used to generate three-dimensional microstructures. We present a unique method to create colloidal microstructures in which we can control the amount of particles and their packing fraction. To this end, we evaporate colloidal dispersion droplets on a special type of superhydrophobic microstructured surface, on which the droplet remains in Cassie-Baxter state during the entire evaporative process.

A supramolecular sensing platform for phosphate anions and an anthrax biomarker in a microfluidic device.

A supramolecular platform based on self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) has been implemented in a microfluidic device. The system has been applied for the sensing of two different analyte types: biologically relevant phosphate anions and aromatic carboxylic acids, which are important for anthrax detection. A Eu(III)-EDTA complex was bound to β-cyclodextrin monolayers via orthogonal supramolecular host-guest interactions.