Themed collection Most popular 2024 catalysis articles

Cyanines are organic dyes bearing two aza-heterocycles linked by a polymethine chain.

The development of the DalPhos cage ligand family and application in developing state-of-the-art nickel-catalyzed cross-coupling chemistry is described.

Asymmetric organocatalysis has acquired a prominent place in modern synthesis of noncanonical α-amino acids (ncAAs), valuable structural elements in organic synthesis, chemical biology, and medicine.

This review provides a comprehensive overview of the recent advances in catalyst design, characterization techniques, and device applications of the oxygen reduction reaction.

Recent progresses in Cu–oxygen adducts towards recalcitrant C–H activation are reviewed with focus on Cu metalloenzymes and bioinspired synthetic models, mono- to polynuclear complexes, working under homogeneous and heterogeneous catalytic conditions.

This review systematically introduces how to regulate the electronic structure and geometric configuration of atomic catalysts to achieve high-efficiency electrocatalysis performances by analyzing detailed electrocatalytic applications and mechanisms.

This review critically summarizes the recent achievement on various photocatalysts for plastic upcycling. A range of key factors affecting the reaction kinetics/thermodynamics are also summarized.

The direct conversion of esters to imines or enamines is achieved using zirconocene hydride (ZrH) catalysis. This transformation occurs through an amine-interrupted reduction, bypassing traditional pathways leading to alcohol products.

Ammonia, which can be decomposed on-site to produce CO₂-free H₂, is regarded as a promising hydrogen carrier because of its high hydrogen density, wide availability, and ease of transport.

High-throughput experimentation and computational chemistry were used to build machine learning models for Rh-catalyzed asymmetric olefin hydrogenation, identifying numerous factors affecting the accuracy of selectivity and reactivity predictions.

Demonstration of a switchable electrocatalysis mechanism modulated by hydrogen bonding interactions in ligand geometries.

A Co-peptoid, CoTBE, is an efficient electrocatalyst for homogeneous water oxidation at pH 7 with low overpotential. The peptoid sidechains act as a second coordination sphere mimic, enhancing stability and activity and facilitating water binding.

A change in regioselectivity for group 4 catalysed hydroaminoalkylation gives linear homoallylic amines from conjugated dienes and amines. Isolated reaction intermediates provide mechanistic insight and evidence for reversible C–C bond formation.

We developed a dual-strategy of Fe doping and CeO₂ decoration to optimize the electronic structure and reaction energy barrier of Ni₂P to achieve energy-efficient and chlorine-free hydrogen production by coupling the HER with HzOR in seawater.

Vibrational spectroscopy on time scales from picoseconds to hours unveils the activation pathways for the C–H bond functionalisation (pre)catalyst [Mn₂(CO)₁₀]. CO-loss, rather than Mn–Mn bond cleavage, give entry into a Mn(I)-based catalytic cycle.

Supported noble metal catalysts, ubiquitous in chemical technology, often undergo dynamic transformations between reduced and oxidized states—which influence the metal nuclearities, oxidation states, and catalytic properties.

The activity of a cobalt phosphino–thiolate complex towards the electrochemical reduction of CO₂ in the presence of H₂O is observed to produce formate with a selectivity as high as 94%, displaying negligible current degradation over long-term electrolyses.

An amide ligand supported zinc compound was developed as an effective multitasking catalyst for the radical-mediated C-alk(en)ylation of unactivated carbocycles (indene/fluorene) with diverse alcohols under mild conditions.

A new general protocol for the synthesis of cyclobutane-fused chromanones via gold-mediated photocatalysis is reported. Gold photocatalyst proved more efficient than widely employed iridium- and organo-photocatalysts.

The study describes 4e⁻/4H⁺ reduction of oxygen to water by a non-heme iron complex containing a proton exchanging site at the secondary coordination sphere.

The triplet energies and redox properties of eight photocatalysts were found to vary a function of solvent polarity. Irrespective of solvent, the photocatalysts photodegraded under PET reaction conditions, but not PEnT reaction conditions.

Defective Co₃O₄ catalysts featuring dual-functional sites were synthesized using a facile thermal annealing strategy to enhance the adsorption of reactants/intermediates and facilitate effective C–N coupling for urea production from CO₂ and nitrite.

A versatile Ru-porphyrin catalyst system was developed for the mild and selective aerobic epoxidation of alkenes in which water was shown to play a key role as corroborated by detailed mechanistic studies.

A molybdenum halide cluster complex is converted to an angstrom-size metal cluster on HY zeolite. The cluster efficiently catalyzes ammonia synthesis owing to high N₂ activation ability brought by cooperation of the multiple molybdenum sites.

An azadithiolate bridged CN⁻ bound pentacarbonyl bis-iron complex, mimicking the active site of [Fe–Fe] H₂ase is synthesized, which effectively reduces H⁺ to H₂ between pH 0–3 at diffusion-controlled rates (10¹¹ M⁻¹ s⁻¹) i.e. 10⁸ s⁻¹ at pH 3 with an overpotential of 140 mV.

Promoted hydrogen oxidation reaction kinetics in alkaline electrolytes and enlarged effective potential range were achieved simultaneously by alleviating the competitive adsorption of hydrogen and hydroxyl intermediates.

The whole mechanism of photocatalytic CO₂ reduction to CO by a Ru(II)–Re(I) supramolecular photocatalyst was successfully clarified using time-resolved infrared spectroscopy, UHPLC analysis, electrochemical measurements, and DFT calculations.

Computational-assisted catalyst design facilitates identification of a potent non-intuitive fluorinated acridinium catalyst for aerobic photoredox conversion of polystyrene to benzoic acid.