Construction of a multipurpose photochemical reactor with on-line spectrophotometric detection

Abstract

A versatile photoreactor was built for studying homogeneous and heterogeneous photochemical reactions using fiber-optic devices. The reactor was designed to allow simultaneous photochemical initiation and online spectrophotometric monitoring of the reaction using independently controlled excitation and detection lamps. The system consists of a CCD spectrophotometer, a thermostated sample holder, two light sources, and standard 1.00 × 1.00 cm (or possibly smaller) fluorescence cuvettes, all coupled with fiber optic cables. The device can be used as a photoreactor, a diode-array spectrophotometer and also as a spectrofluorimeter. The reactor can be used in flow-through operation modes. Performance tests of the instrument are reported here with a number of known photochemical systems.