Nanoreactors for simultaneous remote thermal activation and optical monitoring of chemical reactions

We report herein the design of plasmonic hollow nanoreactors capable of concentrating light at the nanometer scale for the simultaneous performance and optical monitoring of thermally activated reactions. These reactors feature the encapsulation of plasmonic nanoparticles on the inner walls of a mesoporous silica capsule. A Diels–Alder cycloaddition reaction was carried out in the inner cavities of these nanoreactors to evidence their efficacy. Thus, it is demonstrated that reactions can be accomplished in a confined volume without alteration of the temperature of the bulk solvent while allowing real-time monitoring of the reaction progress.