Impact of nanoreactor anisotropy and confinement on chemical reactions

• Grant number: 25/10170-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: July 01, 2025
• End date: June 30, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Physical-Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Edvaldo Sabadini
• Grantee: Álvaro Javier Patiño Agudelo
• Host Institution: Instituto de Química (IQ). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 24/04742-6 - Impact of nanoreactor anisotropy and confinement on chemical reactions, AP.R

Abstract

Nanoreactors facilitate chemical reactions by creating nano-scale conditions, allowing complex processes to take place with minimal energy expenditure, thus enhancing efficiency. While microemulsions are typical nanoreactors, research exploring the effect of anisotropic nanoreactors on reaction rate, yield, and selectivity compared to bulk and isotropic nanoconfinement is lacking. This gap may hinder discovering even more efficient reactions or new nanofabrication methods. Here, we propose a systematic empirical methodology to test such conditions. Reverse wormlike micelles, ternary systems of organic solvent, amphiphilic molecules, and water, are selected as nanoreactors. The water-to-amphiphilic molecule ratio determines micellar shape, length, and diameter, influencing the dimensions of water channels where reactions occur. These soft thermodynamic structures provide precise control over confinement and anisotropy, making them ideal model systems. To assess the nanoreactor morphology's impact on chemical reactions, we will monitor product formation and yield of precipitation, reduction, and photo-polymerization reactions. Using these simple reactions enable us to focus on reaction mechanisms, and on experimental control guidelines. We aim to compare reactions in unconfined bulk conditions, reverse spherical micelles under isotropic confinement, and reverse wormlike micelles under anisotropic confinement. Additionally, we propose to apply laminar flow fields and observe alterations in reaction yield and product quality, due to reverse wormlike micelle alignment under flow. Precise measurement of nanoreactor dimensions and reaction yield, along with product characterization, will be achieved through in situ scattering and rheological experiments. Combining X-rays and neutrons as radiation sources will offer local, quantitative, and time-dependent information about confined anisotropic nanoreactor structural development and reaction product characterization, without external influences. This approach simplifies product extraction and characterization, providing a direct solution to our research question. If successful, our project will directly impact the nanotechnology, biophysics, and catalysis fields, addressing nanoparticle synthesis with an innovative approach.