Fundamentals and Recent Advances in Microreactor Catalysis and Flow Chemistry

Year : 2026 | Volume : 17 | Issue : 02 | Page : 07 18
By

Piyush Kumar,

Naisergik Deepika Khanna,

  1. PG Student, Department of Chemistry, Neta Ji Subhash Chander Bose Memorial Government College Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh, India
  2. Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, Neta Ji Subhash Chander Bose Memorial Government College Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh, India

Abstract

The processing technology of chemical reactions has changed quite a bit over the last few decades. For a long time, chemists relied on batch reactors having large containers where all the starting materials are mixed, and the reaction happens in one go. While this approach works, it has several drawbacks: poor heat control, uneven mixing, safety risks, and a lot of waste. Microreactors and flow chemistry offer a much better alternative. Microreactors are tiny devices with channels a few micrometers wide and with a very large surface area as compared to their volume. This makes heat transfer and mixing much more efficient. Reactions can be controlled very precisely, done more safely, and often completed in seconds rather than hours. In this paper, different types of catalysts that speed up chemical reactions without being consumed can be used inside these microreactor systems. Studies showed that heterogeneous catalysts, homogeneous catalysts, photocatalysts, enzymes, and organocatalysts have all been used successfully in flow systems. Some examples also included the pharmaceutical industry, fine chemicals production, and green chemistry to show the effectiveness of these microreactors. The most recent developments in this area, including the use of artificial intelligence to optimize reactions automatically and the growing use of 3D-printed reactors also discussed. At the end of this paper, the main challenges that still need to be worked out include catalysts losing activity over time, channels getting blocked, and the difficulty of scaling up from a lab setting to industrial production.

Keywords: Microreactors, batch reactors, microchannels, catalysis, flow mechanism

[This article belongs to Journal of Modern Chemistry & Chemical Technology ]

How to cite this article: Piyush Kumar, Naisergik Deepika Khanna. Fundamentals and Recent Advances in Microreactor Catalysis and Flow Chemistry. Journal of Modern Chemistry & Chemical Technology. 2026; 17(02):07-18.
How to cite this URL: Piyush Kumar, Naisergik Deepika Khanna. Fundamentals and Recent Advances in Microreactor Catalysis and Flow Chemistry. Journal of Modern Chemistry & Chemical Technology. 2026; 17(02):07-18. Available from: https://journals.stmjournals.com/jomcct/article=2026/view=255744

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Regular Issue Subscription Original Research
Volume 17
Issue 02
Received 25/05/2026
Accepted 28/05/2026
Published 25/06/2026
Publication Time 31 Days

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