Artificial Active Nanoreactor with Nature-Inspired Sequential Catalytic Ability

This study is aimed at addressing the present challenge in tandem catalysis, where the sequential catalytic processes are often not compatible with each other and even engage in each other. The objective is met by reporting an artificial “active” nanoreactor capable of sequential catalytic ability. This nanoreactor is made of nature-inspired “active” compartments consisting of core-and-shell architectures. The “active” compartments allow the nanoreactor to catalytically separate the tandem processes from each other, avoiding the occurrence of mutual interferences. Unlike the use of reported nanoreactors and conventional bi-functional catalysts, the tandem catalysis at this nanoreactor involves neither the mutual competition nor the spatiotemporal mismatching between the tandem processes. This nanoreactor suggests a potential model for achieving sequential catalytic ability.