Simplifying Gas-Phase Kinetics with a Dual-Arm Flow Tube Reactor

We present a flow tube reactor design for gas-phase kinetics studies near ambient temperature and pressure. Built entirely from standard tubing, the setup simplifies conventional flow tube configurations based on injector translation while allowing tighter adjustment of reaction time. The reactor spans residence times from sub-second to several minutes through two operating modes: (i) a variable-length mode, in which reaction time is controlled by the tube length, and (ii) a variable-flow mode, in which the second arm acts as an exhaust branch that decouples reactor pressure from inlet flows while allowing the reactor flow rate to be adjusted over a setup-dependent range. Key advantages include a narrow and well-characterized residence time distribution, rapid radial mixing in millimeter-scale tubing, low wall reactivity through the use of perfluoroalkoxy alkane (PFA), and operation of the reaction section at nearly uniform pressure independently of detector constraints. We characterize the residence time distribution and demonstrate reactor performance with the ozonolysis of 2,3-dimethyl-2-butene. Overall, the method provides a compact, low-cost, and versatile alternative to conventional movable-injector flow tubes, with potential applications in atmospheric chemistry, fundamental kinetics, and gas--liquid or gas--solid uptake studies.

Olivier Durif, Barbara Nozière · 2026