High pressure: a challenge for lab-on-a-chip technology

The realization of microreactors, in which chemical reactions can be carried out in continuous or stop flow mode under pressure conditions, is the main topic of this thesis. The advantages of microreactor technology for pressure chemistry are clearly demonstrated in this thesis. Organic reactions were successfully carried out at micro- to nanoliter scale at pressures up to 600 bar, thus safety regulations are not an issue anymore. The combination of pressure and the small characteristic dimensions of microreactors give rise to rate enhancements compared to conventional batch operation. In addition, on-line detection techniques like NMR and UV-Visible spectroscopy were successfully incorporated in the microreactors, resulting in the development of a μTAS