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IMAGE: An illustration of physically confined spaces in a porous bilayer silica film on a metal catalyst that can be used for chemical reactions. Silicon atoms are indicated by the orange. view more
Credit: Brookhaven National Laboratory
UPTON, NY Physically confined spaces can make for more efficient chemical reactions, according to recent studies led by scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory. They found that partially covering metal surfaces acting as catalysts, or materials that speed up reactions, with thin films of silica can impact the energies and rates of these reactions. The thin silica forms a two-dimensional (2-D) array of hexagonal-prism-shaped cages containing silicon and oxygen atoms.