“Online/Offline”-Shiftable Imprinted Polymer Nanoreactor with Selective/Nonselective-Switchable Catalytic Ability

Abstract

The realization of selective/nonselective-switchable catalytic ability remains a significant challenge in controlled catalytic processes. We herein report an originally-designed imprinted polymer nanoreactor capable of meeting this challenge. This nanoreactor was composed of Ag nanoparticles and a unique holothurian-inspired imprinted polymer carrier that contained mobile molecular chains. These mobile molecular chains, by motioning and lying motionless, enabled the imprinted carrier to function in an “online/offline”-shiftable paradigm, causing switchable access to the encapsulated metal nanoparticles. This nanoreactor showed selective catalytic ability at relatively low temperatures due to the “frozen” molecular chains, which allowed for substrate-selective access to the encapsulated metal nanoparticles (i.e., imprinted carrier’s “online” status). In contrast, this nanoreactor provided non-selective catalysis at relatively high temperatures in response to the increased mobility of these molecular chains, which resulted in dismantling the selective access (i.e., imprinted carrier’s “offline” status). Unlike reported imprinted polymer nanoreactors which simply provide selective catalysis, this novel nanoreactor allows selective/nonselective-switchable catalysis in virtue of the bio-inspired design. This study opens up opportunities to modulate catalytic selectivity for controlled chemical processes.