Abstract:

One of our long-term goals is to investigate chemical reactivity in confined environments akin to enzymatic active sites. This talk will outline two approaches we are developing to create such synthetic confined environments using methods borrowed from colloidal chemistry. In one such system the confinement is provided by nanopores between dynamically self-assembling spherical nanoparticles. Second, we have developed the synthesis of metallic nanoshells with one opening each, dubbed nanobowls, whose cavity can be regulated and chemically functionalized.