  Reactions at solid-water interfaces play a foundational role in water
treatment systems, catalysis, chemical separations, and in predicting chemical
fate and transport in the environment. Over the last century, experimental
measurements and computational models have made tremendous progress in
capturing reactions at solid surfaces. The interfacial reactivity of a solid
surface, however, can change dramatically and unexpectedly when it is confined
to the nanoscale. Nanoconfinement can arise in different geometries such as
pores/cages (3-D confinement), channels (2-D confinement) and slits (1-D
confinement). Therefore, measurements on unconfined surfaces, and molecular
models parameterized based on these measurements, fail to capture chemical
behaviors under nanoconfinement. This review evaluates recent experimental and
theoretical advances, with a focus on adsorption at solid-water interfaces. We
review how nanoconfinement alters the physico-chemical properties of water, and
how the structure and dynamics of nanoconfined water dictate energetics,
pathways, and products of adsorption in nanopores. The implications of these
findings and future research directions are discussed.
