Substrate Channeling in Compartmentalized Nanoreactors.

Thermo- and photoresponsive nanoreactors based on shell cross-linked micelles (SCMs) for the rhodium-catalyzed asymmetric transfer hydrogenation (ATH) of ketones have been developed from poly(2-oxazoline) triblock terpolymers. The nanoreactors incorporate thermoresponsive poly(2-isopropyl-2-oxazoline) as the hydrophilic corona and are covalently cross-linked with a photoswitchable spiropyran molecule. UV irradiation or changes in temperature trigger morphology switching of the polymer-based nanoreactors that alters the hydrophobicity in separate layers of the SCMs, resulting in dynamic substrate selectivity of the ATH in water.