Process intensification of copper chromite (CuCr2O4) nanoparticle production using continuous flow microreactor

The present study deals with the production of monodispersed copper chromite nanoparticles in a continuous flow micro channel reactor. The precursors used were aqueous solutions of copper nitrate and chromium nitrate. A mixture of the precursor at a fixed copper to chromium metal ion ratio and citric acid were infused in a continuous flow microreactor maintained at a constant temperature of 80 °C and followed by calcinations at 200 °C for a fixed duration of 2 h to yield the nano powder. The effect of different Cu/Cr metal ion ratios on the particle size was studied. The optimum value of flow rate and Cu/Cr ratio was found to be 75 and 0.5 mL/h, respectively. The particle size of obtained copper chromite nanoparticles was measured to be in the range 192-300 nm, relatively smaller compared to that obtained in a batch reactor. The effect of different types of surfactants on the particle size was also studied and it was observed that the surfactants played an important role in controlling nucleation during particle formation and subsequent growth of the particles.