Confinement effects on chemical reactions—Toward an integrated rational catalyst design

Most chemical reactions of practical interest are carried out in nano-structured materials, which can enhance reactions due to their large specific surface area, their interactions with the reacting mixture and confinement effects. An experimental investigation of the role of each possible catalytic effect is challenging, since experimental measurements reflect an integration over multiple effects. In this work, we present a review of our most recent research on some of the factors that can influence a chemical reaction in confinement through the study of several model systems. We first consider the influence of steric hindrance on the equilibrium and kinetics for the rotational isomerizations of several small hydrocarbons [E.E. Santiso, M. Buongiorno Nardelli, K.E. Gubbins, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., (2007), in press]. These examples illustrate how reaction rates can vary doubly exponentially with the dimensions of the confining material (the ‘shape-catalytic’ effect). As a second example, we consider the unimolecular decomposition of formaldehyde on graphitic carbon pores of various sizes [E.E. Santiso, A.M. George, K.E. Gubbins, M. Buongiorno Nardelli, J. Chem. Phys. 125 (2006) 084711]. These results illustrate the influence of electrostatic interactions with the supporting material on the reaction mechanism and equilibrium yield for reactions involving a charge transfer. As a final example, we consider the interaction of a water molecule with a defective carbon substrate as an example of a chemical interaction that can be enhanced through a shape-catalytic effect. We first show using ab initio calculations how a vacancy site on a graphene surface can induce the thermal splitting of water at relatively low temperatures [M.K. Kostov, E.E. Santiso, A.M. George, K.E. Gubbins, M. Buongiorno Nardelli, Phys. Rev. Lett. 95 (2005) 136105]. We then examine the dissociation on a vacancy site on a nanotube surface, which shows the shape-catalytic effect of the surface curvature. These results are a first step toward the design of catalytic materials that take advantage of different enhancing effects simultaneously.