Issue 19, 2013

Microscale separation of immiscible liquids using a porous capillary

Abstract

We describe a simple method for the direct inline separation of two immiscible liquids based on the selective wetting and permeation of a porous polytetrafluoroethylene capillary by one of the liquids. Using water dispersed in fluorous carrier fluid as a test system, quantitative recovery of the water from the carrier fluid is achieved over a wide range of flow conditions, with no contamination by the fluorous component even when present in large (ten-fold) excess. The exiting water stream may be readily redispersed by injecting additional carrier fluid downstream, allowing for repeated switching between the segmented and continuous flow regimes – a critical requirement for multistep chemical processing. The separator is shown to simplify in-line sample analysis by allowing measurements to be carried out quasi-statically without the need for fast instrumentation synchronised to the segmented water flow.

Graphical abstract: Microscale separation of immiscible liquids using a porous capillary

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
25 Jul 2013
Accepted
29 Jul 2013
First published
19 Aug 2013
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Anal. Methods, 2013,5, 4991-4998

Microscale separation of immiscible liquids using a porous capillary

J. H. Bannock, T. W. Phillips, A. M. Nightingale and J. C. deMello, Anal. Methods, 2013, 5, 4991 DOI: 10.1039/C3AY41251B

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