(177b) Nanoreactors and Nanostructured Materials

The new challenges to reaction engineering emerge from advanced material synthesis and manufacture. Reports of the appearance of new materials replacing the conventionally used materials (wood, glass, metal, fibers etc.) with an improved performance and extended range of applications are clear pointers in this direction. A number of advanced materials with cost competitiveness and enhanced performance in sectors such as automotive and transportation, energy, electronics and optoelectronics, separations, packaging, coating, biomedical applications, hybrid composites for building-construction, enhanced oil recovery, space modules etc. are poised to bring about economic transformation of the chemical industry. A clear understanding of the fundamental science and especially the chemistry (and biology in some instances) at interfaces together with our ability to model structure-activity-performance relationship and the connected issue of controlling molecular structure during processing conserving its desirable properties is thus the emerging need. Development of non conventional reactors that will allow structured contacting with ease of rapid heating or cooling or use of alternative fields such as electric, magnetic or photo-assisted transformation or self-assembled systems as nanoreactors for nanostructured products are becoming important. In the present work we will take stock of nanoreactors for preparation of such structured materials and examine them from the view point of chemical reaction engineering parameters.