Catalysis Science & Technology Blog

The following HOT articles have been highlighted by the reviewers of the articles as being particularly interesting or significant pieces of research. These are all free to access until 30/09/15. The order they appear in the list has no meaning or ranking.

---

Predicting the performance of oxidation catalysts using descriptor models
Neetika Madaan, N. Raveendran Shiju and Gadi Rothenberg
Journal Article
DOI: 10.1039/C5CY00932D, Paper

---

CuO–CeO2/TiO2 catalyst for simultaneous NO reduction and Hg0 oxidation at low temperatures
Hailong Li, Shaokang Wu, Liqing Li, Jun Wang, Weiwu Ma and Kaimin Shih
Journal Article
DOI: 10.1039/C5CY00794A, Paper

---

Synthesis and oxidation catalysis of a Ti-substituted phosphotungstate, and identification of the active oxygen species
Eri Takahashi, Keigo Kamata, Yuji Kikukawa, Sota Sato, Kosuke Suzuki, Kazuya Yamaguchi and Noritaka Mizuno
Journal Article
DOI: 10.1039/C5CY01031D, Paper

---

The following HOT articles have been highlighted by the reviewers of the articles as being particularly interesting or significant pieces of research. These are all free to access until 18/06/2015. The order they appear in the list has no meaning or ranking.

Slight channel difference influences the reaction pathway of methanol-to-olefins conversion over acidic H-ZSM-22 and H-ZSM-12 zeolites
Yueying Chu, Xianyong Sun, Xianfeng Yi, Lihong Ding, Anmin Zheng and Feng Deng
DOI: 10.1039/C5CY00312A, Paper

---

Does a multiply bonded oxo ligand directly participate in B–H bond activation by a high-valent di-oxo-molybdenum(VI) complex? A density functional theory study
Liangfang Huang, Jiandi Wang, Xiaoqin Wei and Haiyan Wei
DOI: 10.1039/C5CY00177C, Paper

The following HOT articles have been highlighted by the reviewers of the articles as being particularly interesting or significant pieces of research. These are all free to access until 31/03/2015. The order they appear in the list has no meaning or ranking.

Reversibility of asymmetric catalyzed C–C bond formation by benzoylformate decarboxylase
Marco Berheide, Selin Kara and Andreas Liese

DOI: 10.1039/C4CY00171K, Paper

---

Sailing into uncharted waters: recent advances in the in situ monitoring of catalytic processes in aqueous environments
Hui Shi, Johannes A. Lercher and Xiao-Ying Yu
10.1039/C4CY01720J

---

The following HOT articles have been highlighted by the reviewers of the articles as being particularly interesting or significant pieces of research. These are all free to access until 28th February 2015. The order they appear in the list has no meaning or ranking.

---

Ionic liquid-functionalized graphene oxide as an efficient support for the chiral salen Mn(III) complex in asymmetric epoxidation of unfunctionalized olefins
Weiguo Zheng, Rong Tan, Shenfu Yin, Yaoyao Zhang, Guangwu Zhao, Yaju Chen and Donghong Yin  
DOI: 10.1039/C4CY01290A, Paper

---

Novel nanoparticle/enzyme biosilicified nanohybrids for advanced heterogeneously catalyzed protocols
Carolina Garcia, Ivaldo I. Junior, Rodrigo O. M. A. de Souza and Rafael Luque  
DOI: 10.1039/C4CY01313A, Paper 

---

Combination of gold and iridium catalysts for the synthesis of N-alkylated amides from nitriles and alcohols
Feng Li, Juan Ma, Lei Lu, Xiaofeng Bao and Wanying Tang  
DOI: 10.1039/C4CY01506A, Paper

---

Composites of [γ-H2PV2W10O40]3− and [α-SiW12O40]4− supported on Fe2O3 as heterogeneous catalysts for selective oxidation with aqueous hydrogen peroxide
Ye Wang, Keigo Kamata, Ryo Ishimoto, Yoshiyuki Ogasawara, Kosuke Suzuki, Kazuya Yamaguchi and Noritaka Mizuno  
DOI: 10.1039/C4CY01693A, Paper

---

Electrochemical activation of an oblique angle deposited Cu catalyst film for H2 production
Jesús González-Cobos, Víctor J. Rico, Agustín R. González-Elipe, José L. Valverde and Antonio de Lucas-Consuegra  
DOI: 10.1039/C4CY01524J, Paper

---

Recent advances in metal free- and late transition metal-catalysed hydroamination of unactivated alkenes
Elise Bernoud, Clément Lepori, Mohamed Mellah, Emmanuelle Schulz and Jérôme Hannedouche  
DOI: 10.1039/C4CY01716A, Perspective

---

Ozone catalytic oxidation for ammonia removal from simulated air at room temperature
Yang Liu, Xiao-Song Li, Jing-Lin Liu, Chuan Shi, Xiaobing Zhu, Ai-Min Zhu and Ben W.-L. Jang  
DOI: 10.1039/C4CY01269K, Paper

The latest themed issue from Catalysis Science and Technology, “Catalysis on Chiral Surfaces: From Fundamental Aspects to Application”, contains a plethora of articles reporting on the latest heterogeneous catalysts with significant stereospecific properties for asymmetric or chiral transformations.

In an article from the group of Dr Raja at the University of Southampton, UK, S. Newland et al. demonstrate the importance of anchoring organocatalysts to the inner walls of mesoporous silica to attain highly active and selective catalysts. Traditionally, organocatalysts are used in a homogeneous fashion, however this often leads to labour and energy intensive recollection for recycling of the catalyst. The covalent anchoring of cinchonine to the inner walls of mesoporous silicas not only gains the facile recycle benefits of a heterogeneous catalyst, but can increase the activity 6-fold for Michael addition reactions compared with the homogeneous analogue. And this is all achieved without sacrificing the enantioselectivity of the catalyst!

The anchoring methods were applied to DABCO, another molecule used as a chemoselective organocatalyst to show that the method could be applied to a variety of different catalysts with equally impressive results. It is easy to envisage these anchoring methods being significantly useful to any researchers working in the area of chiral organocatalysis.

Want to find out more on the synthesis and origin of these catalytic properties? Read the full article now!

Highly effective design strategy for the heterogenisation of chemo- and enantioselective organocatalysts
Stephanie H. Newland, David J. Xuereb, Enrica Gianotti, Leonardo Marchese, Ramon Rios and Robert Raja
Catal. Sci. Technol., 2015,5, 660-665, DOI: 10.1039/C4CY00895B,

The following HOT articles have been highlighted by the reviewers of the articles as being particularly interesting or significant pieces of research. These are all free to access until 31st January 2015. The order they appear in the list has no meaning or ranking.

Selectivity and kinetics of methyl crotonate hydrogenation over Pt/Al2O3
Chaoquan Hu, Derek Creaser, Henrik Grönbeck, Houman Ojagh and Magnus Skoglundh  
DOI: 10.1039/C4CY01470G, Paper

Structuring catalyst and reactor – an inviting avenue to process intensification
J. Gascon, J. R. van Ommen, J. A. Moulijn and F. Kapteijn  
DOI: 10.1039/C4CY01406E, Perspective

Surely the next go-to article in the area of semiconductor photocatalysis, this thorough review by a group from the US is likely to appeal to both young researchers and established scientists alike. If you are new to the area of photocatalysis with semiconductor materials, the authors do a great job of collating the best background literature to introduce the topic, key principles and concepts in a concise fashion. At the same time, the authors have intricately organised the cutting edge research in the field so as to provide a useful tool for established researchers to continue pushing the frontiers of solar energy conversion.

In the first instance, a summary of single material photocatalysts are discussed from the well-known metal oxides and sulphides such as TiO₂ and CdS through to mixed metal oxides and heavier group VI materials. Especially highlighted is how the chemical and physical structures of materials help to define the optical properties that are required for catalytic processes; band structures can be influenced by doping and energy losses can be minimised by manipulating the dimensionality and macrostructures of engineered materials.

Further discussed are more complex semiconductor composites, bringing together multiple semiconductors or combining with other materials such as carbons. These in turn have led to the development of devices such as tandem cells, which have drastically improved upon the quantum efficiencies that can be attained. The authors have successfully drawn together state-of-the-art work, breaking down the theoretical considerations in a logical manner, to allow the reader to appreciate the current state of research in the field whilst leaving the door wide open for development and innovation for the future.

Take a look at the full review article now!

Semiconductor-based photocatalysts and photoelectrochemical cells for solar fuel generation: a review

Jiangtian Li and   Nianqiang Wu