Using MRI to study gas reactions

Researchers at the US Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California, Berkeley, have successfully studied gas-phase reactions on the microscale using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

The application is seen as a significant step towards improving the design of future catalysts and catalytic reactors, especially for microfluidic lab-on-a-chip devices.

The scientists have developed a technique whereby a parahydrogen-polarised gas is used to make an MRI signal strong enough to provide direct visualisation of the gas-phase flow of active catalysts in packed-bed microreactors. This means that the MRI can be used to track gases and liquids in microfluidic devices as well as in the void spaces of a tightly packed catalyst reactor bed.

‘This is the first time hyperpolarised gas has been used to directly study catalytic reaction products on such a small scale and without the use of tracer particles or gas,’ said Louis Bouchard, one of the chemists who carried out the research.