Vortex fluidic mediated synthesis of polysulfone.

Polysulfone (PSF) was prepared under high shear in a vortex fluidic device (VFD) operating in confined mode, and its properties compared with that prepared using batch processing. This involved reacting the pre-prepared disodium salt of bisphenol A (BPA) with a 4,4'-dihalodiphenylsulfone under anhydrous conditions. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) established that in the thin film microfluidic platform, the PSF particles are sheet-like, for short reaction times, and fibrous for long reaction times, in contrast to spherical like particles for the polymer prepared using the conventional batch synthesis.

Dynamic thin film mediated slicing of boron nitride nanotubes.

A method has been developed to slice boron nitride nanotubes BNNTs under continuous flow in a vortex fluidic device (VFD), along with a method to partially purify the as received BNNT containing material. The latter involves heating the BNNTs to 600 °C followed by dispersing in a 1 : 3 isopropyl alcohol (IPA) and water mixture at 100 °C. The VFD mediated slicing of the BNNTs comprises irradiating the rapidly rotating glass tube (20 mm OD) with a pulsed Nd:YAG laser.

Inverted vortex fluidic exfoliation and scrolling of hexagonal-boron nitride.

Exfoliation or scrolling of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) occurs in a vortex fluidic device (VFD) operating under continuous flow, with a tilt angle of -45° relative to the horizontal position. This new VFD processing strategy is effective in avoiding the build-up of material that occurs when the device is operated using the conventional tilt angle of +45°, where the h-BN precursor and scrolls are centrifugally held against the wall of the tube. At a tilt angle of -45° the downward flow aided by gravity facilitates material exiting the tube with the exfoliation of h-BN and formation of h-BN scrolls then optimized by systematically varying the other VFD operating parameters, including flow rate and rotational speed, along with concentration of h-BN and the choice of solvent.

Continuous flow synthesis of phosphate binding h-BN@magnetite hybrid material.

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is rendered magnetically responsive in aqueous media by binding superparamagnetic magnetite nanoparticles 8.5-18.5 nm in diameter on the surface.