Volume 5 Issue 1, January 2022

Metrics are a useful way to assess biocatalyst performance and, when compared to techno-economic targets, can help set goals for further enzyme and bioprocess research and development. Here, we outline some of the remaining challenges to ensure wider acceptance of this approach, both in industry and in academia.

Phosphorus compounds with unique chirality due to the presence of a P-stereocentre are obtained through stereoselective catalytic cross-coupling of phosphoramidites and aryl halides. Axial-to-central transfer of chirality is shown to provide ready access to various classes of P-chirogenic compounds that are key to catalysis and drug development.

General and efficient methodologies for the construction of homochiral phosphorus stereocentres are sought-after. Now, merging Pd-catalysed cross-coupling with phosphorus arylation of phosphoramidites provides access to a broad array of asymmetric P-compounds by axial-to-central chirality transfer from BINOL.

Nitriles can be hydrogenated with a variety of precious metal catalysts, yet there is a lack of heterogeneous systems based on affordable metals such as iron. Here, the authors report a silica-supported Fe/Fe–O core–shell catalyst with the ability to hydrogenate nitriles in the presence of aluminium additives.

Surface treatments can tune catalysts’ wettability, which can be used to promote their catalytic performance. Now, a potential-dependent dynamic wetting behaviour of cobalt-based oxide catalysts is identified before and during the oxygen evolution reaction.

Aerobic oxidation of propylene is a potential green route to propylene oxide production without the need for harmful oxidizing or wasteful sacrificial reagents. Here, a proof-of-concept integrated photo-electro-heterogeneous catalytic system performs this reaction using in situ-generated H₂O₂.

The conversion of methane to oxygenated molecules is a very challenging reaction that often requires the use of a coreductant or stoichiometric conditions. Here, the authors report the use of gold supported on ZSM-5 as a promising catalyst for this process in combination with oxygen in the absence of coreductants.

The CO₂-mediated oxidative dehydrogenation of propane is an attractive reaction for propylene production, although the selection of competent catalysts available for this process is scant. Now, the authors report a ceria-supported Pt–Co–In ternary alloy that achieves this transformation with high efficiency.

Hydrogen production from water electrolysis requires high working voltages and produces H₂ only at the cathode. Now, H₂ generation during the oxidation of biomass-derived aldehydes is combined with the hydrogen evolution reaction on the cathode for low-voltage H₂ production.