The objectives of this research are to experimentally identify the effects of pore size on reaction rate in systems where the molecular size of the reacting species is comparable to that of the pore sizes within the material where the reaction is taking place. Based on the hypothesis that pore size influences the intrinsic reaction rate of large molecules within porous materials, a research program will be estalbished to investigate the effect in model reaction systems representative of the processing and upgrading of petroleum feedstocks as well as those of importance in the biotechnology field. The goal of the research is to address questions such as: Does the effect exist? What differences are observed between various reaction systems, for example, immobilized enzyme reactions versus catalytic hydrogenation reactions? What experimental techniques are needed to study the effect unambiguously? What is the functional dependence of the rate constants on the ratio of molecular diameter to pore diameter?
