Scopes and challenges of microfluidic technology for nanoparticle synthesis, photocatalysis and sensor applications: A comprehensive review

Microfluidic technology offers a plethora of completely unique and novel pathways for the preparation of various nanostructured materials. It enables rapid synthesis of nanoparticles with greater control over their shape and size compared to the batch chemical reactors. Synthesis in miniaturized microfluidic reactors is highly cost-effective as the requirement of chemicals and reagents is considerably reduced. Microfluidic reactors are also being increasingly used in photocatalytic investigations in recent years owing to their superiority over the conventional photocatalytic reactors. Thus, considering the growing importance of this relatively new technology, this article presents an overview of the recent developments in the area of microreactor-based synthesis of various nanostructured materials, such as quantum dots, core-shell nanoparticles, metal-based nanoparticles, and nanocomposites. This review also discusses the latest advancements in the field of microreactor-based photocatalytic decontamination of water using nanomaterials. Since microfluidics is also evolving as a promising platform for sensing applications, here, some of the interesting reports on nanomaterial-based microfluidic sensors have also been discussed. In conclusion, the pros and cons of using this emerging technology in nanomaterial synthesis, photocatalysis and sensing have been briefly reviewed.