Substrate-Induced Phase Transition within Liquid Condensates Reverses Catalytic Activity of Nanoparticles

Abstract

Liquid-liquid phase separation is reported to enhance the catalytic reaction rates by several folds. Here we explore the interactions between catalyst and a range of substrate concentrations to understand the impact on droplet phase and catalytic reaction kinetics. We observed that the substrate above a critical concentration induces phase-transitions within liquid condensates and restricts the free movement of both substrate and products, resulting in an overall reduction in the reaction rate, an observation not reported earlier.