Online Monitoring of Vinyl Chloride Polymerization in a Microreactor Using Raman Spectroscopy

A novel capillary‐based microfluidic device has been designed to follow the vinyl chloride polymerization reaction. Monodisperse droplets of 200 μm diameter could be obtained by means of a co‐flow generation system, each one being considered as a polymerization reactor. Monomer droplets were visualized in a microchannel with a high‐speed camera. At the end of the reaction, PVC grains were observed with a scanning electron microscopy technique. Real‐time non‐invasive Raman measurement was performed on stationary vinyl chloride monomer droplets and provided values of effective reaction orders and rate constants. This microdevice allowed reaction investigation under difficult conditions of pressure and temperature with a minimal amount of reagents.