Nghiem Tai-Lam, Coban Deniz, Tjaberings Stefanie, Gröschel André H
Physical Chemistry and Centre for Soft Nanoscience (SoN), University of Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany.
Polymers (Basel). 2020 Sep 24;12(10):2190. doi: 10.3390/polym12102190.
Catalysis is one of the most important processes in nature, science, and technology, that enables the energy efficient synthesis of essential organic compounds, pharmaceutically active substances, and molecular energy sources. In nature, catalytic reactions typically occur in aqueous environments involving multiple catalytic sites. To prevent the deactivation of catalysts in water or avoid unwanted cross-reactions, catalysts are often site-isolated in nanopockets or separately stored in compartments. These concepts have inspired the design of a range of synthetic nanoreactors that allow otherwise unfeasible catalytic reactions in aqueous environments. Since the field of nanoreactors is evolving rapidly, we here summarize-from a personal perspective-prominent and recent examples for polymer nanoreactors with emphasis on their synthesis and their ability to catalyze reactions in dispersion. Examples comprise the incorporation of catalytic sites into hydrophobic nanodomains of single chain polymer nanoparticles, molecular polymer nanoparticles, and block copolymer micelles and vesicles. We focus on catalytic reactions mediated by transition metal and organocatalysts, and the separate storage of multiple catalysts for one-pot cascade reactions. Efforts devoted to the field of nanoreactors are relevant for catalytic chemistry and nanotechnology, as well as the synthesis of pharmaceutical and natural compounds. Optimized nanoreactors will aid in the development of more potent catalytic systems for green and fast reaction sequences contributing to sustainable chemistry by reducing waste of solvents, reagents, and energy.
催化是自然、科学和技术中最重要的过程之一，它能实现基本有机化合物、药物活性物质和分子能源的高效合成。在自然界中，催化反应通常发生在涉及多个催化位点的水性环境中。为防止催化剂在水中失活或避免不必要的交叉反应，催化剂常被位点隔离在纳米口袋中或分别储存在隔室中。这些概念启发了一系列合成纳米反应器的设计，使在水性环境中原本不可行的催化反应成为可能。由于纳米反应器领域发展迅速，我们在此从个人角度总结聚合物纳米反应器的突出和最新实例，重点介绍其合成方法以及在分散体系中催化反应的能力。实例包括将催化位点引入单链聚合物纳米颗粒、分子聚合物纳米颗粒、嵌段共聚物胶束和囊泡的疏水纳米域中。我们关注由过渡金属和有机催化剂介导的催化反应，以及用于一锅串联反应的多种催化剂的分别储存。致力于纳米反应器领域的研究工作与催化化学、纳米技术以及药物和天然化合物的合成相关。优化后的纳米反应器将有助于开发更高效的催化体系，实现绿色快速反应序列，通过减少溶剂、试剂和能源的浪费，为可持续化学做出贡献。
