Macroscale Control of Reactivity using 3D Printed Materials with Intrinsic Catalytic Properties

[Display omitted] •Catalyst topology affects flow dynamics of reaction media, and thereby performance.•3D printing simultaneously controls catalyst topology and molecular composition.•Catalytic stirrer activity depends on blade curvature relative to rotation direction.•Synergy between acidic and hydrophobic sites enhances catalytic sucrose hydrolysis.•3D printing optimizes catalyst macro- and molecular structure to maximize yields. The morphology of heterogeneous catalysts can impact their performance. However, standard manufacturing methods like extrusion or pelleting offer little options for tailoring catalyst shape. Herein, stereolithographic 3D printing is used to produce catalysts with controlled topologies to enhance their performance. A series of magnetic stir-bar compartments (SBC) were 3D printed and tested as catalysts for sucrose hydrolysis. The SBC were printed using acrylic acid (AA) and 1,6-hexanediol diacrylate (HDDA) as acid sites and hydrophobic crosslinking domains, respectively. Variations in the number and tilt direction of the SBC blades produced significant changes in their apparent catalytic activities. These changes resulted from differences in the fraction of active surface effectively interacting with the reactants in solution, as revealed by computational fluid dynamics simulations. Moreover, varying HDDA:AA ratios in SBC regulated reactant-surface interactions to control catalytic activity. Overall, 3D printing catalysts enables quick performance optimization by simultaneously controlling macroscopic structure and molecular composition.