Unprecedently large Cl/Cl equilibrium isotopic fractionation on nano-confinement of chloride anion.

Confinement can result in unusual properties leading to new, exciting discoveries in the nano-realm. One such consequence of confinement at the nanoscale is extremally large isotopic fractionation, especially at sub-van der Waals distances. Herein, on the example of chlorine isotope effects, we show that at conditions of nanoencapsulation these effects may reach values by far larger than observed for the bulk environment, which in the case of nanotubes can lead to practical applications (e.g., in isotopic enrichment) and needs to be considered in analytical procedures that employ nanomaterials.