3D printing is a “bottom-up” technique for assembling materials layer-by-layer to produce three-dimensional objects. Herein, a general concept that involves direct 3D printing substituted ethylene monomers is introduced and proven to produce unique catalytic devices. Custom devices were designed by computer, printed and used for monitoring <i>in-situ</i> the kinetics and mechanism of a heterogeneous catalyzed three component reaction between cyclohexanone, benzaldehyde and aniline via solution UV-visible spectroscopy. As an additional proof of concept, two different millifluidic devices containing homogenously dispersed copper catalyst were 3D printed and used to study the effect of reactor architecture on the yield of a click cycloaddition reaction. This work demonstrates that incorporating covalently bound catalytic sites on 3D objects can provide simultaneous control of structure and chemical reactivity.

Stereolithographic 3D printing of catalytic devices from bifunctional molecular precursors

255th National Meeting (2018)

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