Nanoreactors were created by entrapping homogeneous catalysts in hollow nanocapsules with 200 nm diameter and semi-permeable nanometer-thin shells. The capsules were produced by the polymerization of hydrophobic monomers in the hydrophobic interior of the bilayers of self-assembled surfactant vesicles. Controlled nanopores in the shells of nanocapsules ensured long-term retention of the catalysts coupled with the rapid flow of substrates and products in and out of nanocapsules. The study evaluated the effect of encapsulation on the catalytic activity and stability of five different catalysts. Comparison of kinetics of five diverse reactions performed in five different solvents revealed the same reaction rates for free and encapsulated catalysts. Identical reaction kinetics confirmed that placement of catalysts in the homogeneous interior of polymer nanocapsules did not compromise catalytic efficiency. Encapsulated organometallic catalysts showed no loss of metal ions from nanocapsules suggesting stabilization of the complexes provided by nanocapsules. Controlled permeability of the shells of nanocapsules enabled size-selective catalytic reactions.

Ground-state atomic oxygen [O( ³ P)] is an oxidant whose formation in solution was proposed but never proven.