Nanoreactor with Core–Shell Architectures Used as Spatiotemporal Compartments for “Undisturbed” Tandem Catalysis

Abstract

The study is aimed at the present challenge in tandem catalysis, addressing how to achieve tandem catalytic ability and meantime to avoid a mutual engagement between the tandem processes. This objective was met by constituting a nanoreactor with bio-inspired compartments made of core-and-shell architectures. The core-and-shell architectures allowed the nanoreactor to spatiotemporally separate the tandem catalytic processes from each other, in virtue of the restriction from mass transfer and the radial distribution of reaction loci. The shell in this nanoreactor admitted a precursor reaction while the core was responsible the following reaction. There was no mutual engagement in the tandem processes, due to the spatiotemporally-driven sequential catalysis in the nanoreactor. In this way, this nanoreactor demonstrated the “undisturbed” tandem catalytic ability. Differing from reported nanoreactors and bi-functional catalysts which often involve a mutual competition and even cross-reactions between the tandem processes, this nanoreactor may partition the tandem catalytic processes and avoid the mutual engagement. The constitution of this nanoreactor suggests a prospect to develop “undisturbed” tandem catalysts for complicated catalytic processes.