Browse Articles

Aminated heteroaromatics are usually synthesized from heteroaromatic substrates. Now, a general photochemical approach that exploits non-aromatic N-heterocyclic ketones as starting materials for the coupling with amines under desaturative catalysis is reported as an alternative.

The use of data science tools in catalysis research has experienced a surge in the past 10–15 years. This Review provides a holistic overview and categorization of the field across the various approaches and subdisciplines in catalysis.

Synthetic methylotrophic organisms provide potential for valorization of greenhouse gas-derived methanol. Here an Escherichia coli strain is generated that reaches a similar growth rate on methanol to many natural methylotrophs and is capable of producing chemicals from this carbon source.

Biomass is a renewable source of carbon that can be exploited to produce valuable chemicals and fuels. This Perspective discusses the electrochemical valorization of biomass, identifying specific chemical transformations in which the approach can excel.

The tunable design of molecular catalysts presents opportunities for the control of product selectivity in CO₂ reduction, yet to date, complexes capable of producing multicarbon products have been elusive. Here, a Br-bridged dinuclear Cu(I) complex that turns over C₃H₇OH is reported.

Electrocatalysts are often dynamic and their surface structure changes under working conditions. Now the dynamic evolution of MoS₂ edges is monitored with nanometre-resolution via electrochemical tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy during the hydrogen evolution reaction.

The development of superior and cost-effective catalysts for the oxygen reduction and evolution reactions is pivotal for the future hydrogen economy. Now a series of Ru-modified Li₂MnO₃ catalysts have been designed to optimize the electronic structure and achieve a high performance in both oxygen reduction and evolution reactions, as demonstrated in practical anion exchange membrane fuel cell and water electrolyser tests.

Photoelectrocatalysis offers the potential to reduce energy demand and provide different selectivity profiles compared with electrocatalytic analogues, but current systems have shown limited rates. Here, recent advances in light concentration and gas diffusion electrodes are integrated into a photoelectrochemical system for coupled glycerol oxidation and CO₂/H₂O reduction with photocurrent densities above 100 mA cm⁻².

Oxide-derived copper is well-known as a CO₂ reduction electrocatalyst, yet the mechanism of its formation and the structure of the active phase remain unclear. Here the reduction of oxide-derived copper is modelled using large-scale molecular dynamics with a neural network potential, providing important insights into the removal of trapped oxygen under operating conditions.

Photoelectrocatalytic nitrate reduction offers an opportunity for a lower carbon route to ammonia production but has not been realized due to poor efficiency. Here an efficient modified lead halide perovskite photocathode is coupled to glycerol oxidation anode resulting in a bias-free photocurrent density greater than 20 mA cm⁻².

Polar and steric effects usually dictate the regioselectivity in homolytic aromatic substitution. Now a method for direct ortho-selective C–H amination of aromatics with diverse side chains as directing groups is disclosed, by which the iron catalyst coordinates both the substrate and the aminyl radical.

The semihydrogenation of acetylene is an important industrial reaction generally targeted with alloy catalysts and more recently with single-atom catalysts. Here, the authors report a MOF-supported Pd₁–Au₁ dimeric system that, by merging such approaches, results in high performance levels under simulated front-end industrial conditions.

The development of bimetallic catalysts is often hindered by the heavy workload of the classical trial-and-error method. Now, a distinct mechanism demonstrates that breaking down the net thermochemical reaction into the corresponding electrochemical half-reactions offers a facile approach to design bimetallic catalysts by analysing each putative half-reaction.

While skeletal editing stands as a powerful approach for simplifying synthetic procedures and obtaining complex molecules, viable methodologies remain limited. Now, a smart photoredox protocol, involving the insertion of carbon atoms into the indene core, gives access to a wide library of functionalized naphthalenes.

The lack of stability of critical raw material-free electrocatalysts during the oxygen evolution reaction in acidic electrolytes lies beneath the use of Ir-based electrocatalysts in polymeric water electrolysis. Here, a strategy to enhance γ-MnO₂ stability in acid is proposed. Theoretical and spectroscopic approaches reveal that increasing the fraction of O atoms in the appropriate position, namely O_pla, prevents Mn dissolution during water electrolysis.

Ethylene oxide is a key platform chemical that is produced industrially from the epoxidation of ethylene on silver catalysts, but the precise mechanism remains elusive. Now, in a joint computational–experimental effort, a phase of the silver catalyst grown on (100) facets that contains square-pyramidal subsurface oxygens and is stabilized by strongly adsorbed ethylene is identified as the active phase, and the mechanism is revealed.