Catalytic confinement effects in nanochannels: from biological synthesis to chemical engineering

Abstract

Catalytic reactions within nanochannels are of significant importance in disclosing the mechanisms of catalytic confinement effects and developing novel reaction systems for scientific and industrial demands. Interestingly, catalytic confinement effects exist in both biological and artificial nanochannels, which enhance the reaction performance of various chemical reactions. In this minireview, we investigate the recent advances on catalytic confinement effects in terms of the reactants, reaction processes, catalysts, and products in nanochannels. A systematic discussion of catalytic confinement effects associated with biological synthesis in bio-nanochannels and catalytic reactions in artificial nanochannels in chemical engineering is presented. Furthermore, we summarize the properties of reactions both in nature and chemical engineering and provide a brief overlook of this research field.