Tailoring unsupported nanoreactors: role of confinement in biomimetic systems

最有效的催化反应是在体内观察到的，在酶催化的反应中。开发仿生系统，在提高其在各种环境条件下的稳定性的同时，复制其生物对应物的物理特性和功能，将打开许多应用，特别是在可再生能源生产领域。这项研究计划旨在了解纳米结构中限制效应的物理本质，并开发模拟生物反应器，将金属纳米簇作为催化剂的效率与由于限制而提高的反应活性结合在一起。在这种表征之后，将在水环境中开发用于燃料电池技术的定制的无载体纳米反应器，改善反应物对高活性铂纳米催化剂的访问，并利用一系列能够有效吸收太阳光谱宽波长范围的纳米反应器进行人工光合作用。在这项研究中获得的见解不仅将对环境友好型人工催化剂的合成及其应用产生重大影响，而且作为一个模型系统，它还将提供关于影响生物系统效率的个别因素的宝贵信息，这些因素在体内是无法获得的。

The most efficient catalytic reactions are observed in vivo, in enzyme catalysed reactions. Developing biomimetic systems reproducing the physical properties and function of their biological counterpart while improving the stability under a variety of environmental conditions would open numerous applications specifically in the field of renewable energy production. This research proposal aims at understanding the physical nature of the effect of confinement in nanoarchitectures and develop mimic of bioreactors combining the efficiency of the metal nanoclusters as catalyst to the enhanced reactivity due to confinement. This characterization will be followed by the development of tailored unsupported nanoreactors in aqueous environment for applications in fuel cell technology, improving the access of the reactants to the highly active Pt nanocatalysts and artificial photosynthesis with an array of nanoreactors capable of efficient adsorption of the broad range of wavelength of the solar spectrum. The insight gained during this study will not only have a significant impact on the environmentally friendly synthesis of artificial catalysts and their applications but as a model system it will also provide invaluable information on individual factors influencing the efficiency of biological systems inaccessible in vivo.