A biomimetic nanoreactor combines cellular design principles to produce hydrogen peroxide efficiently under visible light. Inside a hollow nanoscale structure, researchers have recreated two strategies that living cells use to control chemical reactions. The resulting CdS@polydopamine nanoreactor offers a synthetic way to reproduce some of the organization and efficiency found in biological systems. Hydrogel design enables sunlight reuseThe researchers combined in situ spectroscopy, photochemical measurements, finite element simulations, and theoretical calculations to examine how the nanoreactor functions. “Our study provides a new strategy for engineering biomimetic nanoreactors that increasingly replicate the sophisticated functions of living cells, opening new opportunities in artificial photosynthesis, energy catalysis, and synthetic chemistry,” said Prof. Li.