Confinement within porous materials can affect chemical reactions through a host of different effects, including changes in the thermodynamic state of the system due to interactions with the pore walls, selective adsorption, geometrical constraints that affect the reaction mechanism, electronic perturbation due to the substrate, etc. In this work, we present an overview of some of our recent research on some of these effects, on chemical equilibrium, kinetic rates and reaction mechanisms. We also discuss our current and future directions for research in this area. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.