Emerging Investigator Series – Deven Estes

Originally from southwest Oklahoma, USA, Deven Estes studied chemistry at the University of Oklahoma, obtained his bachelors’ degree in 2009. He then went on to earn his Ph.D. in Organometallic Chemistry from Columbia University in 2014 in the laboratory of Prof. Jack Norton. During postdoctoral stays in the groups of Profs. Christophe Copéret (ETH Zürich) and Walter Leitner (RWTH Aachen then MPI for Chemical Energy Conversion) he first became interested in surface organometallic chemistry and molecular heterogeneous catalysis. In 2019, he was appointed Junior-Professor (tenure track) in the Institute of Technical Chemistry at the University of Stuttgart where his group uses molecular models and well-defined surface species to understand the interplay between metal hydrides and support materials.

Read his Emerging Investigator article “The reaction of HV(CO)4dppe with MoO3: a well-defined model of hydrogen spillover” and read more about his in the interview below:

How do you feel about Catalysis Science & Technology as a place to publish?

Catalysis Science and Technology is a great specialist catalysis journal where we are free to discuss important issues to the catalysis community and still has excellent visibility. This makes Catal. Sci. Technol. well suited for papers discussing the chemical nature of hydrogen spillover, which has become a pet project of many catalysis researchers over the last several decades.

What aspect of your work are you most excited about at the moment?

I am very excited at our approach’s ability to study hydrogen spillover on a molecular level. By using well-defined metal hydrides with similar thermodynamic properties to hydrogen adsorbed on metal surfaces, we can replace the metal nanoparticles on a support surface, thereby greatly simplifying the system. This allows us to study these PET reactions just as molecular chemists have done for many years.

In your opinion, what are the most important questions to be asked/answered in this field of research?

In my opinion, the two important questions in hydrogen spillover are ‘When and how does hydrogen spillover occur?’ and ‘What effect does hydrogen spillover have on catalytic processes?’.

Can you share one piece of career-related advice or wisdom with other early career scientists?

I once got the advice to keep a journal of research ideas that I had and this has proven invaluable for recording and improving projects.

 

Keep up to date with Deven and his research by following his Twitter @esteslab

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Emerging Investigator Series – Luis M. Martínez-Prieto

Dr. Luis M. Martínez-Prieto received his PhD degree in Organometallic Chemistry in 2012, working at the IIQ – “Instituto de Investigaciones Químicas” (Seville, Spain) on Ni and Pd pincer complexes under the supervision of Prof. J. Cámpora. He then moved to the LCC – “Laboratoire de Chimie de Coordination” (Toulouse, France) for a postdoctoral stay in the group of Prof. B. Chaudret. His research focused on the synthesis, characterization and study of the surface chemistry of metal nanoparticles (MNPs). In 2015, he joined the LPCNO – “Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie des Nano-Objets” (Toulouse, France), exploring the use of MNPs as catalysts in the lab of Prof. P. van Leeuwen. In 2017, he was awarded with a “Juan de la Cierva” fellowship that allowed him to start an independent career working on confined/supported metal catalysts and magnetically induced catalysis at the ITQ – “Instituto de Tecnología Química” (Valencia, Spain), in the team of Prof. A. Corma. Recently, he has been selected as “Ramon y Cajal” researcher and he is starting a new stage as independent scientist in his alma mater, the University of Seville.

Read his Emerging Investigator article “Tailoring graphene-supported Ru nanoparticles by functionalization with pyrene-tagged N-heterocyclic carbenes” and read more about his in the interview below:

How do you feel about Catalysis Science & Technology as a place to publish?

RSC journals in general and Catal. Sci. Tech. in particular are always one of the first options when publishing my results, since the whole publishing process is comfortable and smooth (from submission to proof edition). The good work of the editorial board is also highly appreciated.

What aspect of your work are you most excited about at the moment and what do you find most challenging about your research?

Right now, I am very interested in magnetically induced catalysis, a novel and efficient way to perform catalytic reactions by transforming electromagnetic energy into heat. One of the most challenging aspects of magnetic heating is to control the temperature during the catalysis.

In your opinion, what are the most important questions to be asked/answered in this field of research?

Perhaps due to my organometallic background, I am more interested to understand fundamental aspects of catalytic reactions such as reaction mechanisms or precise location of active sites than other important aspects such as the activity itself.

Can you share one piece of career-related advice or wisdom with other early career scientists?

This is a long-distance career, with a lot of competition and hard moments, and it is very important to have a great calling and strong conviction in yourself.

 

Keep up to date with Luis and his research by following his Twitter @fisco51

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Emerging Investigator Series – Hiroyuki Asakura

Hiroyuki Asakura has been a Project-Specific Assistant Professor of Elements Strategy Initiative for Catalysts and Batteries (ESICB), Kyoto University, since April 2016. He worked as a Designated Assistant Professor of Nagoya University Synchrotron Radiation Research Center and a beamline staff at BL5S1, Aichi Synchrotron Center from April 2012 to March 2016. He received his Ph.D. degree in Engineering from Kyoto University in 2015. His current research interests are development of X-ray absorption spectroscopy, catalysis for automobile exhaust purification, and fuel cells.

Read his Emerging Investigator article “Real-time observation of the effect of oxygen storage materials on Pd-based three-way catalysts under ideal automobile exhaust conditions: an operando study” and read more about his in the interview below:

How do you feel about Catalysis Science & Technology as a place to publish?

I feel that CS&T is one of nice places to publish research results because even though this journal is dedicated to catalysis as named itself, but most reports include not only the catalytic performance but also fundamental insights into the catalysis.

 

 

Keep up to date with Hiroyuki and his research by visiting his website here

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Emerging Investigator Series – Caroline E. Paul

 

Caroline E. Paul received her Honours BSc and MSc in Biological Chemistry at the University of Toronto with Prof. M. Nitz, and her PhD degree at the University of Oviedo in the group of Prof. V. Gotor with Prof. V. Gotor-Fernández and Prof. I. Lavandera on developing biocatalytic processes. After postdoctoral work with a Marie Curie fellowship at TU Delft with Prof. F. Hollmann, she carried out her research interests on oxidoreductases with a NWO VENI grant at Wageningen University. Since 2018 she is assistant professor at TU Delft in the Department of Biotechnology. Her current research interests focus on artificial cofactors, enzymatic cascades, and exploring non-natural enzymatic reactions for applications in organic chemistry synthesis.

Read her Emerging Investigator article “Asymmetric azidohydroxylation of styrene derivatives mediated by a biomimetic styrene monooxygenase enzymatic cascade” and read more about her in the interview below:

How do you feel about Catalysis Science & Technology as a place to publish?

In my opinion, Catalysis Science & Technology is a high quality journal to publish work in the field of Biocatalysis. The research articles published in this journal are of high standards in the catalysis field and well-advertised. There is a dedicated editor for Biocatalysis and the publication process is professional and efficient, with quality peer-review reports.

What aspect of your work are you most excited about at the moment and what do you find most challenging about your research?

The exciting aspect of my work currently is discovering new enzymes their chemical reactivity. A challenge in Biocatalysis is how to predict enzyme activity.

Can you share one piece of career-related advice or wisdom with other early career scientists?

Follow the research you are passionate about and work with a team.

 

Keep up to date with Caroline and her research by following her Twitter @Caroline_E_Paul

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Catalysis Science & Technology 10th Anniversary Symposium – Poster Prize Winners

The Catalysis Science & Technology 10th Anniversary Symposium was held virtually 16-17 November 2021 and was attended by researchers from all areas of catalysis, from all over the world.

The event showcased cutting edge research across all areas of catalytic science, and provided an opportunity for the broad catalysis community to come together in honour of the journal’s important milestone. The event gave our attendees lots of opportunities to network and engage with world leading speakers, Catalysis Science & Technology Editorial Board members, the Editorial Office as well as other attendees. There were many exciting discussions and attendees had the chance to share their ideas with key members of the catalysis science community.

The programmed featured invited speakers across all areas of catalysis science, a panel discussion on the chemical recycling of plastics as well as a poster session. We had over 140 poster abstract submissions from researchers worldwide, and across a diverse spectrum of catalysis research areas. The posters were of exceptional quality, and judging decisions were very tight.

We were delighted to award 10 poster prizes to the below participants:

 

Conference Banner

 

Poster Prize Winners

 

Francisco Alonso Gómez Mudarra, University of Barcelona, Spain
“Theoretical studies of Copper-Catalyzed Suzuki-Miyaura Cross-Coupling”

Ian C. Chagunda, University of Victoria, Canada
“A mechanistic investigation of the Suzuki polycondensation reaction using MS/MS methods”

Lorianne Shultz, University of Central Florida, USA
“Copper oxide catalysts supported on contiguous nickel foam: an earth-abundant alternative to precious metals for aqueous redox chemistry”

Vera Giulimondi, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
“Controlled Formation of Dimers and Spatially Isolated Atoms in Au‑Ru Single‑Atom Catalysts via Carbon‑Host Functionalization”

Maria-Iuliana Chirica, National Institute of Material Physics, Romania
“Selective oxidation of p-cymene using MAX Phase catalysts”

Jie Ren, RWTH Aachen University, Germany
“Understanding promotional effects of trace oxygen in CO2 methanation over Ni/ZrO2 catalysts”

Sue-Faye Ng, Xiamen University Malaysia, Malaysia
“Solar-powered chemistry: Engineering 2D carbon nitride-based nanomaterials for high-performance photocatalysis”

Donald Inns, Loughborough University, UK
“Evaluating Perovskite-Based Pt Catalysts in the Aqueous Phase Reforming of Glycerol”

Bingqiao Xie, University of New South Wales, Australia
“Role of surface chemistry in understanding light-enhanced catalytic performance in CO2 hydrogenation reactions”

Amelie Rochet, Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials, Brazil
Operando Bragg coherent diffraction imaging visualising defects dynamics during CO oxidation”

 

 

Each winner was awarded a digital certificate and a £50 cash prize. Many congratulations again to our winners, and to all of our poster participants. We were proud to showcase so much exciting work and look forward to their future developments.

 

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Catalysis Science & Technology: Editors’ Choice October 2021

Associate Editors Andrew Weller and Jinhua Ye have selected some outstanding recent research from Catalysis Science & Technology to share with you. Read now for free until 29 January 2022.

Andrew Weller is Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of York, UK. Prior to this, he was Professor of Chemistry at the University of Oxford for 13 years. He moved to Oxford in 2007, after starting his independent career at the University Bath in 1999 as a Royal Society University Research Fellow. He is currently a holder of an EPSRC Established Career Fellowship, and was recipient of the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Frankland and Dalton Transactions European Lectureship awards.

His research focus is on the organometallic chemistry of the transition metals and homogeneous catalysis. In particular, he develops organometallic complexes that are “operationally unsaturated” that lead to highly efficient, selective catalysts for a wide variety of important bond activation processes in both solution and single-crystalline phases.

Submit to Andrew Weller now

 

Paper 

A mechanistic investigation of the Suzuki polycondensation reaction using MS/MS methods

Michelle Y. C. Ting, Lars P. E. Yunker, Ian C. Chagunda, Katherine Hatlelid, Meghan Viewega and J. Scott McIndoe

Catal. Sci. Technol., 2021,11, 4406-4416

 

Paper 

Aerobic oxidation of primary amines to amides catalyzed by an annulated mesoionic carbene (MIC) stabilized Ru complex

Suman Yadav, Noor U Din Reshi, Saikat Pala and Jitendra K. Bera

Catal. Sci. Technol., 2021, Advance Article

 

Paper 

Zirconium-catalysed direct substitution of alcohols: enhancing the selectivity by kinetic analysis

Cristiana Margarita, Piret Villo, Hernando Tuñon, Oscar Dalla-Santa, David Camaj, Robin Carlsson, Malin Lill, Anja Ramström and Helena Lundberg

Catal. Sci. Technol., 2019, 9, 3259-3269. DOI: 10.1039/C9CY00368A

 

Jinhua Ye received her PhD from the University of Tokyo in 1990 and  joined National Research Institute for Metals (former NIMS) in 1991. She is now a Principle Investigator and the Field Coordinator of Nano-Power Field at International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (MANA), National Institute of Materials Science (NIMS) and a Professor of Joint Doctoral Program in Graduate School of Chemical Science and Engineering, Hokkaido University, Japan. She is also the appointed director of TU-NIMS Joint Research Center and Professor of Materials Science at Tianjin University, China.

Her research interests focus on the research and development of novel photocatalytic materials and their applications in the fields of environment remediation and solar to chemical energy conversion.

Submit to Jinhua Ye now

 

Minireview 

Ir-based bifunctional electrocatalysts for overall water splitting

Lin-Wei Chena and Hai-Wei Liang

Catal. Sci. Technol., 2021, 11, 4673-4689

 

Paper 

Exposed (002) facets and controllable thickness of CdS nanobelts drive desirable hydrogen-adsorption free energy (ΔGH) for boosting visible-light photocatalytic performance

Dejian Yan, Zhiyong Xue, Feng Chen, Xia Liu, Zhenhua Yang, Yong Pei, Shaoxiong Zhoua and Caixian Zhao

Catal. Sci. Technol., 2021, Advance Article

 

Paper 

Boosting free radical type photocatalysis over Pd/Fe-MOFs by coordination structure engineering

Hongmei Cheng, Cuicui Zang, Fengxia Bian, Yanke Jiang, Lin Yang, Fan Dongb and Heyan Jiang

Catal. Sci. Technol., 2021, 11, 5543-5552

 

Paper

Efficient photocatalytic conversion of benzene to phenol on stabilized subnanometer WO3 quantum dots

Akihide Ohno, Hiroto Watanabe, Takahiro Matsui, Shoichi Somekawa, Tomisaki, Yasuaki Einaga, Yuya Oaki and Hiroaki Imai

Catal. Sci. Technol., 2021, 11, 6537-6542

 

Minireview

Oxide-based composites: applications in thermo-photocatalysis

Irene Barba-Nieto, Natividad Gómez-Cerezo, Anna Kubacka and Marcos Fernández-García

Catal. Sci. Technol., 2021, Advance Article

 

We hope you enjoy reading these articles!

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Catalysis Science & Technology and RSC Advances joint 10th Anniversary collections: Photocatalysis

This year, we are celebrating 10 years of both Catalysis Science & Technology and RSC Advances and we have taken this opportunity to celebrate together. Looking back over the last decade, we would like to showcase some of the very best articles that have been published in our journals. Many of these papers are highly cited, providing valuable advances for further research, and some continue to be among the journals’ most downloaded articles as of today.

We hope you enjoy our 10th Anniversary collections!

RSC Advances and Catalysis Science & Technology Editorial teams

 

Highlighted articles

Amorphous Co3S4 nanoparticle-modified tubular g-C3N4 forms step-scheme heterojunctions for photocatalytic hydrogen production
Yuanpeng Wang, Xuqiang Hao, Lijun Zhang, Zhiliang Jin and Tiansheng Zhao
Catalysis Science & Technology, Article, 2021

 

Synthesis and photocatalytic activities of a CuO/TiO2 composite catalyst using aquatic plants with accumulated copper as a template
Dongfang Lu, Osman Ahmed Zelekew, Angaw Kelemework Abay, Qitang Huang, Xiaoyun Chen and Yushan Zheng
RSC Advances, Article, 2019

 

Ultrathin CdS shell-sensitized hollow S-doped CeO2 spheres for efficient visible-light photocatalysis
Ning-Chao Zheng, Ting Ouyang, Yibo Chen, Zhu Wang, Di-Yun Chen and Zhao-Qing Liu
Catalysis Science & Technology, Article, 2018

 

Eosin Y catalysed photoredox synthesis: a review
Vishal Srivastava and Praveen P. Singh
RSC Advances, Review, 2017

 

Read the full collection

 

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Catalysis Science & Technology and RSC Advances joint 10th Anniversary collections: Asymmetric catalysis

This year, we are celebrating 10 years of both Catalysis Science & Technology and RSC Advances and we have taken this opportunity to celebrate together. Looking back over the last decade, we would like to showcase some of the very best articles that have been published in our journals. Many of these papers are highly cited, providing valuable advances for further research, and some continue to be among the journals’ most downloaded articles as of today.

We hope you enjoy our 10th Anniversary collections!

RSC Advances and Catalysis Science & Technology Editorial teams

 

Highlighted articles

Engineering an alcohol dehydrogenase with enhanced activity and stereoselectivity toward diaryl ketones: reduction of steric hindrance and change of the stereocontrol element
Kai Wu, Zhijun Yang, Xiangguo Meng, Rong Chen, Jiankun Huang and Lei Shao
Catalysis Science & Technology, Article, 2020

 

 

The role of biocatalysis in the asymmetric synthesis of alkaloids – an update
Emmanuel Cigan, Bettina Eggbauer, Joerg H. Schrittwieser and Wolfgang Kroutil
RSC Advances, Review, 2021

 

Prediction on the origin of selectivities of NHC-catalyzed asymmetric dearomatization (CADA) reactions
Yang Wang, Qiu-Yu Wu, Tian-Hua Lai, Kai-Jun Zheng, Ling-Bo Qu and Donghui Wei
Catalysis Science & Technology, Article, 2018

 

Asymmetric catalysis in direct nitromethane-free Henry reactions
Lin Dong and Fen-Er Chen
RSC Advances, Article, 2020

 

Read the full collection

 

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Catalysis Science & Technology and RSC Advances joint 10th Anniversary collections: Catalysis for sustainable development

This year, we are celebrating 10 years of both Catalysis Science & Technology and RSC Advances and we have taken this opportunity to celebrate together. Looking back over the last decade, we would like to showcase some of the very best articles that have been published in our journals. Many of these papers are highly cited, providing valuable advances for further research, and some continue to be among the journals’ most downloaded articles as of today.

We hope you enjoy our 10th Anniversary collections!

Catalysis Science & Technology and RSC Advances Editorial teams

 

Highlighted articles

Recent progress with electrocatalysts for urea electrolysis in alkaline media for energy-saving hydrogen production
Xiujuan Sun and Rui Ding
Catalysis Science & Technology, Minireview, 2020

 

 

A short review of recent advances in CO2 hydrogenation to hydrocarbons over heterogeneous catalysts
Wenhui Li, Haozhi Wang, Xiao Jiang, Jie Zhu, Zhongmin Liu, Xinwen Guo and Chunshan Song
RSC Advances, Review, 2018

 

A plasmonic AuPd bimetallic nanoalloy decorated over a GO/LDH hybrid nanocomposite via a green synthesis route for robust Suzuki coupling reactions: a paradigm shift towards a sustainable future
Mitarani Sahoo, Sriram Mansingh, Satyabrata Subudhi, Priyabrat Mohapatra and Kulamani Parida
Catalysis Science & Technology, Article, 2019

 

Fabrication of CS/GA/RGO/Pd composite hydrogels for highly efficient catalytic reduction of organic pollutants
Lei Ge, Meng Zhang, Ran Wang, Na Li, Lexin Zhang, Shufeng Liu and Tifeng Jiao
RSC Advances, Article, 2020

 

Read the full collection

 

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Emerging Investigator Series – Rafael Gramage-Doria

 

Rafael Gramage-Doria received his PhD (2012) from the University of Strasbourg (France) with Prof. Dominique Armspach and Dr Dominique Matt. After a postdoctoral NWO-Rubicon fellowship with Prof. Joost N. H. Reek at the University of Amsterdam (Netherlands) and later with Prof. Takashi Ooi at Nagoya University (Japan), he joined the Institute of Chemical Sciences of the University of Rennes (France) as a CNRS senior researcher in 2015, where he obtained his Habilitation diploma (2019).

His research activities include transition metal catalysis for fine chemicals and green chemistry applications, C–H bond functionalization, supramolecular and coordination chemistry, and supramolecular and bio-inspired catalysis. He is author of >40 publications and he has delivered >30 (inter)national lectures.

Read his Emerging Investigator article “Ruthenium-catalysed oxidative coupling of vinyl derivatives and application in tandem hydrogenation” and read more about his in the interview below:

How do you feel about Catalysis Science & Technology as a place to publish?

Catal. Sci. Technol. is regarded as one of the most important journals in the area of catalysis not only because of the excellent impact factor but also because it ensures worldwide visibility of our research contributions. The broad readership is ensured by the different topics related to catalysis from fundamental/specific questions to practical applications. Our humble experience with editors and reviewers has been excellent due to the high standards and professionalism they have.

What aspect of your work are you most excited about at the moment and what do you find most challenging about your research?

We are chemists performing research on homogeneous catalysis using organometallic complexes in the broad sense. Developing new chemical reactions as well as controlling the selectivity when multiple products can form is highly attractive for us. To meet this challenge, we rationally design appropriate organometallic catalysts as well as to carefully fine-tune the reaction conditions.

In your opinion, what are the most important questions to be asked/answered in this field of research?

In my opinion, the most interesting scientific questions to be addressed in the future is how to design more powerful, more selective and less energetically demanding catalytic systems. In other words, how can we get more efficient man made catalysts? And the answer to this question might be to look at nature’s catalysts, enzymes, which display unparalleled activity and selectivity in biological transformations. The idea to mimic (some of) their features for implementation in abiological catalysts is a promising pathway.

Can you share one piece of career-related advice or wisdom with other early career scientists?

I do not feel to be in a position to give any advice at all publicly, but I could share a couple of really good advices I received when I was younger: (1) when preparing a manuscript (or an oral presentation), keep in mind the reader (or the audience) in order to make clear what you wish to communicate (the not-so-hidden message is to provide nice scheme/figures and attractive text); (2) always ask yourself and colleagues what is the fundamental scientific question you are addressing in that project or in that experiment; and (3) be supportive and helpful towards students, we all have been there, so do not forget that.

Keep up to date with Rafael and his research by following his Twitter @Rafa_gramage, and visit his group website here.

 

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