Self-Assembled Enzyme-Mimetic Materials for Catalysis

Natural enzymes exhibit remarkable catalytic activity, selectivity, and substrate specificity through precise spatial organization of catalytic residues within well-defined supramolecular architectures. Inspired by biological systems, the development of enzyme-mimetic materials has attracted significant interest for replicating the key features of enzymatic catalysis while improving stability, tunability, and production cost. Recently, molecular self-assembly has emerged as a powerful strategy, employing supramolecular chemistry and materials design principles to generate a catalytic microenvironment for efficient substrate binding, proton/electron transfer, and cooperative interactions that closely resemble the characteristics of natural enzymes. The field has experienced rapid growth in recent years, with self-assembled enzyme-mimetic materials being explored across catalytic applications including hydrolysis, photocatalysis, redox reactions, CO2 conversion, and electrocatalysis. This Research Topic aims to highlight recent advances in the design, synthesis, characterization, mechanistic understanding, and catalytic applications of self-assembled enzyme-mimetic materials.Despite significant recent advances in enzyme-mimetic materials, many synthetic catalytic systems still cannot match the efficiency and selectivity of natural enzymes. Key challenges include limited mechanistic understanding and insufficient control over the molecular organization of functional groups that govern catalytic function. While self-assembly enables the spontaneous organization of molecular building blocks into hierarchical, enzyme-mimetic supramolecular structures, the relationships among structural dynamics, supramolecular organization, molecular sequencing, and catalytic activity remain poorly understood.This Research Topic aims to serve as a platform bridging fundamental and application-driven research to accelerate the advancement of self-assembled enzyme-mimetic materials, highlighting advances in molecular design, computational modeling, and mechanistic studies of catalytic supramolecular assemblies, alongside innovative applications across catalytic processes.We encourage interdisciplinary contributions spanning chemistry, materials chemistry, chemical engineering, and computational modeling. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to: • Molecular self-assembly into hierarchical materials for catalytic functions • Stimuli-responsive and dynamic catalytic assemblies and functionality • Peptide-, peptoid-, and supramolecular polymer-based enzyme-mimetic materials • Hybrid organic–inorganic enzyme-mimetic systems • Computational modeling, molecular dynamics, and machine learning for the design of catalytic materials • Advanced characterization of self-assembled artificial enzymes • Green and sustainable synthesis of self-assembled materials for catalysis Topic editors: Progyateg Chakma, Chenyang Shi Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/83747/self-assembled-enzyme-mimetic-materials-for-catalysis