Quantitative Assessment of Channeling Mechanisms in Nanoscale Catalytic Architectures

The throughput and yield of nanoscale catalytic architectures is limited by the ability to retain reaction intermediates and direct them toward downstream reaction steps. Nature has settled on several approaches to such intermediate channelling, including electrostatic attraction, confinement, and surface affinity. This presentation will discuss the limits to such approaches in the context of a steady-state continuum modeling approach. The extent to which intermediate transport limits overall reaction flux is defined by a flux control coefficient, calculated from numerical results.  The extent to which each channeling approach can enhance overall flux and/or reaction yield under idealized circumstances is predicted, and the various complications introduced by nonidealities are discussed.