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Catalysis is essential in the automotive and transportation sectors to target the United Nations sustainable development goals for climate change and the environment. To comply with both the ambitious United Nations goals and step-by-step stringent emission regulations, innovative and economically viable catalytic systems will be a key element in meeting these challenges.
The global energy and transportation landscapes are changing rapidly, and that brings with it evolving opportunities and catalyst research needs for hydrogen and fuel cells.
For the foreseeable future, we will continue to rely on the internal combustion engine for mobility of people and goods. The ubiquitous three-way catalyst does not work below 350 °C, with appreciable O2, nor does it control soot. Low temperature catalysis, chemical trapping and filtration will grow in need, and represent research opportunities.
PGM-free catalysts for oxygen reduction represent a long-term, high-risk research and development approach with high potential impact on the single greatest cost contributor to automotive fuel cell stacks.
Radical intermediates are key species in many chemical transformations. Recent advances have provided a new suite of selective radical alkylation reactions. This Comment highlights pioneering studies using alkyl amines that act as radical precursors in a number of catalytic processes by their conversion to alkylpyridinium salts.
The preeminent Haber–Bosch process has been feeding humankind for more than one hundred years. Are electrochemical pathways for ammonia synthesis able to compete with it in the future? Electrocatalysts, electrolytes and novel cell design may be key.
Establishing an efficient catalytic system for direct amidation reactions has remained a formidable challenge for years. This Comment will focus on potential new directions in the hope of moving this field forward.
Developing catalytic reactions for organic synthesis is the central goal of countless research groups worldwide. High-throughput experimentation is invaluable for this pursuit, with the requisite tools becoming increasingly available to both industrial and academic research labs.
