Integrated design of microwave and photocatalytic reactors. Where are we now?

Despite many potential advantages, catalytic reactors utilizing electromagnetic energy, such as light or microwaves, lack significant commercial applications. One of the main reasons for this situation is the fact that current microwave and photocatalytic reactor designs suffer from a poor definition of the field geometry and intensity, as well as its interaction with the catalytic material or the processed medium. The present opinion paper discuses those elements of the reactor design, which have not been sufficiently addressed so far. The development of novel integrated reactor concepts should be in continuous dialog with reliable control and design models. Both activities should be supported by instrumentation development to measure electromagnetic field under real process conditions, at relevant spatial and temporal scales.