Researchers have developed a defect-engineered metal-organic framework catalyst that converts glucose into lactic acid with substantially improved efficiency. The catalyst showed activity toward raw biomass feedstocks, producing a 62.8% lactic acid yield at 170°C after four hours when corn cobs were used directly as a biomass feedstock.
Ayman Karim, UVA Chemical Engineering chair, received the 2026 ACS Catalysis Lectureship for his research on heterogeneous catalytic transformations. He and colleague Hongliang Xin captured snapshots of reaction steps to understand the mechanism, enabling better design of 'chemical matchmakers'.
Lithium–sulfur batteries have a theoretical specific capacity of 1,672 milliampere-hours per gram. Molecular catalysts can accelerate sulfur conversion and guide the design of next-generation energy storage systems.
A Korean research team identified surface oxidation occurring during dehydration as the true cause of performance degradation in promising next-generation battery materials. They developed a new liquid-phase bubbling dehydration process that suppresses surface oxidation and improves battery performance.
Researchers successfully engineered a novel platinum cluster catalyst that maximizes hydrogen production performance while minimizing platinum usage. The catalyst enables precise control over the number of atoms in each cluster, achieving world-leading hydrogen production per unit of platinum.
Researchers at Lehigh University developed a new gold-palladium catalysis mechanism that increases reaction rates and stabilizes catalysts. This breakthrough advances the development of more efficient bio-based chemical manufacturing processes.
Researchers at TU Wien found that the sapphire surface is irregular and rough at the atomic scale, with tiny regions of ordered aluminum atoms being surrounded by inhomogeneous surfaces. This atomic-scale disorder dramatically affects the surface's chemical properties, contradicting previous theories.
The team successfully developed a multifunctional catalyst incorporating palladium and copper complexes on mesoporous silica, enabling the efficient activation of ketones and allyl alcohols. This process accelerates the allylation reaction by up to a factor of 15.5 compared to previous catalysts.
Wachs was recognized for his work on mixed oxide catalysts that guide the rational design of solid catalysts for air pollution remediation, sustainable energy, fuels, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals. His election to the NAE honors his contributions to chemical engineering and the modern field of operando molecular spectroscopy.
A recent survey study found a significant association between generative AI use and increased depressive symptoms in US adults. The magnitude of the effect varied by age group, suggesting that further research is needed to understand the causal relationship and underlying factors.
Researchers developed molecular sieve-confined Pt-FeOx catalysts for efficient reversible hydrogen storage and release, overcoming limitations of traditional metal catalysts. The catalyst exhibited excellent mass transfer performance, improved stability, and high hydrogen production rates.
Researchers discovered a simple method to synthesize diverse and performant supported catalysts by alloying metals via gas-switch-triggered reduction. The new approach demonstrated 18 times higher catalytic performance than monometallic catalysts, making it suitable for industrial processes.
Researchers developed a post-treatment strategy based on ion exchange combined with displacement reaction to prepare zeolite-encapsulated PtCu alloy catalysts. The prepared PtCu₅@MFI-K sample exhibited excellent catalytic performance in propane dehydrogenation, with high conversion rates and selectivity.
Researchers explain how iron nanoparticles form in water or on minerals, organic matter, and microbial biofilms, influencing ecosystem health and pollutant movement. Organic molecules and microbes also play major roles in nanoparticle growth and transformation.
Researchers are creating anchored molecular catalysts to improve stability and efficiency in pharmaceutical manufacturing. The new approach could lead to cleaner, safer reactions, faster production, and reduced costs.
The study introduces a novel integration of graph-theoretic structural chemistry, algebraic topology, and deep generative models to enable the rational design of catalysts. The researchers achieved highly accurate predictions of OH adsorption energy using a variational autoencoder coupled with a gradient boosting regressor.
A new COF-based photocatalyst harnesses reversible hydroquinone groups to balance oxygen reduction and water oxidation reactions, improving long-term hydrogen peroxide production rates. This innovation demonstrates a molecular-level strategy for designing robust, long-lived photocatalysts.
A new route for the efficient production of aromatics has been developed via the coupling of CO2 and propane over H-ZSM-5. The introduction of CO2 significantly improves aromatic selectivity, and carbon atoms in CO2 directly participate in product formation.
A novel catalyst achieves unprecedented efficiency in light alkane aromatization, yielding high propane conversion and aromatics selectivity rates. The technology holds promise for reducing reliance on petroleum resources and advancing carbon neutrality goals.
Researchers investigated In2O3 catalyst evolution during CO2 hydrogenation induction, revealing sintering and oxygen vacancy creation. This activation stage enhances reaction rate but reduces methanol selectivity.
The construction of S-scheme heterojunctions enhances CdS photocatalytic hydrogen evolution by promoting spatial charge separation and reducing carrier recombination. CdS-In2O3 composites exhibit significantly improved photocatalytic performance compared to pure CdS.
Researchers developed a new theory to explain metal-support interactions in single-atom catalysis, achieving high activity and stability in hydrogenation reactions. The Frontier Molecular Orbital (FMO) theory predicts that reducing support size increases LUMO energy, promoting hybridization and enhancing catalytic activity.
Researchers at Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA) solve the molecular einstein problem, revealing a unique arrangement of chiral molecules on silver surfaces. The discovery sheds light on the properties of these molecules and their potential applications in physics.
A new study using AI algorithms and domain knowledge reveals that metal-metal interactions play a crucial role in support effects, stabilizing dispersed catalysts and impacting interfacial processes. This breakthrough provides theoretical guidance on interface design and engineering, advancing the field of catalysis.
A recent study published in Nature Communications has reported a method for determining the location of hydrogen in nanofilms. The researchers used nuclear reaction analysis and ion channeling to generate two-dimensional angular mapping of titanium hydride nanofilms, precisely locating both hydrogen and deuterium atoms.
A new chemical process can vaporize plastics, reducing waste and creating hydrocarbon building blocks for new plastics. The catalytic process efficiently degrades a mix of post-consumer plastic waste, bringing closer a circular economy for many throwaway plastics.
Lehigh University researchers developed a novel spectroscopy technique called modulation excitation spectroscopy (MES) to study selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of nitrogen oxides. The results, published in Nature Communications, reveal the correct reaction pathway and have significant implications for optimizing catalytic converters.
A German junior research group at the University of Oldenburg is developing precious-metal-free catalysts to convert carbon dioxide into methanol, formaldehyde, and ethylene. The team aims to create inexpensive and durable materials for large-scale industrial applications.
Researchers from Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics propose a gas-phase migration route for the formation of strong metal-support interaction (SMSI) states. They demonstrate that a self-limited ZnOx overlayer grows on Cu nanoparticles, enhancing methanol synthesis activity.
Researchers from Osaka University developed an economical catalyst for a common chemical transformation, replacing rare metals with cheaper substitutes like nickel. The novel catalyst showed high activity, reusability, and high yields.
A research team at Osaka University has found a way to synthesize alkylamines in a sustainable and cost-effective manner, using a novel catalyst system that produces only water as a byproduct.
A new technique reduces toxic byproducts and increases efficiency in producing alkylbenzene, a crucial intermediate for detergents. The process uses simple alkanes as alkylating agents, resulting in harmless molecular hydrogen as the sole byproduct.
Researchers developed GAME-Net, a graph neural network that rapidly evaluates adsorption energy for large molecules like plastics and biomass. The model achieves accuracy comparable to density functional theory (DFT) while utilizing simple molecular representations.
Scientists develop macroporous structure to increase accessibility of active sites in single-atom catalysts, achieving high activity in oxidative esterification of furfural. The composite catalyst shows high stability and potential for industrial application in biomass valorization and pharmaceutical manufacturing.
A research team from Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics has revealed the existence of reactive gallium-hydride species on the surface of gallium oxide using solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance. The discovery provides comprehensive information on the structural configuration and formation mechanism of these special M-H species.
Researchers analyzed water's role in heterogeneous acid-base catalysis, finding that polar surface functionalities and H-bonding characteristics significantly impact reactions. The review provides insights into the chemical origins of water effects and their catalytic consequences.
The Replica Exchange Grand Canonical (REGC) method describes how surfaces change in contact with reactive gas phases under different temperature and pressure conditions. The approach identifies 25 thermodynamically stable surface phases and predicts stability phase diagrams for real systems.
Scientists from the University of Tsukuba have experimentally measured hydrogenation of copper-adsorbed formate, a crucial step in converting carbon dioxide into methanol fuel. The study found that at temperatures above 200K, atomic hydrogen can catalyze the reaction, producing a product that decomposes back into gaseous formaldehyde.
The article discusses the importance of nano-catalysis in chemical transformations, energy conversion, and storage. A comprehensive review on innovative catalysts is presented, shedding light on their synthesis strategies, applications, and impact on catalytic processes.
A new method of molecular-level control, called induced activation, doubles the efficiency of widely used industrial catalysts. This approach manipulates the catalyst surface by controlling reducing agents at the catalyst activation stage.
A new device has been developed that converts sunlight into two promising sources of renewable fuels – ethylene and hydrogen. The researchers found that by optimizing the working conditions for cuprous oxide, a promising artificial photosynthesis material, they can create a more stable system.
Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have developed water-walking liquid robots that can retrieve and deliver precious chemicals autonomously. The robots use chemistry to control buoyancy and do not require electrical energy, making them ideal for applications such as chemical synthesis and drug delivery.
Researchers at Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg have developed novel, inexpensive catalysts for alkynes reactions. Alkynes are activated through a soft manner, mimicking gold and platinum-based catalysts, with aluminum oxide being a more accessible alternative.
A combined experimental and computational study published in Nature Catalysis introduces a new class of complex metal hydride catalysts that can synthesise ammonia at temperatures as low as 300°C and pressures as low as 1 bar. These catalysts have the potential to pave the way for more sustainable means of ammonia production.
Researchers reviewed dual-atom catalysts' synthesis, characterization, and electrocatalytic performance, highlighting their advantages over single-atom catalysts. They suggest DACs may bridge the gap between heterogeneous and biocatalysis, worth exploring in the future.
A team of Lehigh University researchers is studying a promising alternative catalytic process based on solid acid catalysts for ethylene dimerization. Using in situ and operando molecular spectroscopy, they aim to understand the surface structures of the catalyst and design more active catalysts with reduced environmental impact.
Researchers develop novel template-directed approach to create hollow metal-organic framework (MOF) capsules for encapsulating soluble active species. The resulting yolk-shell MOF capsules exhibit superior activity, combining the merits of homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts.
Boston College researchers create a yolk-shell nanocrystal structure with a porous 'skin' that can filter molecules based on size or chemical makeup, allowing greater selectivity in chemical reactions. The new catalyst exhibits unprecedented control and precision, paving the way for expanded applications of heterogeneous catalysis.
Researchers use infrared spectroscopy to study processes at surfaces of oxides used as catalysts, finding oxygen defects act as active centers and increase catalytic activity. The method allows for precise measurements of vibration frequencies, revealing defect densities in real catalyst powders.