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Developing high-efficiency electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is of great importance. In this paper, dendrite-free Ni–Cu catalysts were synthesised via one-step pulse electrodeposition under a weak magnetic field (0.5 T). Regardless of the direction of the magnetic field, the ions were affected by the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) effect, which greatly promoted the mass transfer and dispersion uniformity, and suppressed the uncontrollable agglomeration by electrodeposition. It was found that the nucleation mechanism changed from progressive nucleation under a 0 T magnetic field to instantaneous nucleation under a 0.5 T magnetic field. Large-scale (325 nm, 0 T) dendrite growth on the single-sided plane was successfully suppressed, and replaced by smaller (90 nm, 0.5 T) and uniformly distributed cluster growth around the carbon paper. In addition, the (111) plane was strengthened by the magnetic field. Electrochemical analysis showed that the Ni–Cu catalysts exposed more surface area and exhibited greatly enhanced catalytic activity, which only needed −57.3 mV to deliver the current density of 10 mA cm−2 with a small Tafel slope of 99.4 mV dec−1 in 1 M KOH. Overall, magneto-electrodeposition, especially under weak magnetic field conditions, provides great promise for the preparation of HER catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a piece of filter paper with good flexibility and hygroscopicity was used to support catalysts after a pencil drawing process. A layer of thin Ni film was deposited on the surface of the conductive graphite layer using an electrochemical method at a negative potential. Pd nanoparticles with high electrocatalytic activity for NaBH4 oxidation were introduced by immersing the Ni film-graphite-filter paper (NGF) in PdCl2 solution to obtain a Pd-NGF (PNGF) electrode. The morphology and phase structure of PNGF were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and an X-ray diffractometer (XRD). The PNGF electrode was used as the anode in direct borohydride fuel cells (DBFCs), and the electrochemical properties for NaBH4 oxidation were determined by cyclic voltammetry (CV), chronoamperometry (CA) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The oxidation current density reaches 550 mA cm−2 at −0.4 V when the electrolyte contains 2 mol dm−3 NaOH and 0.10 mol dm−3 NaBH4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fe, N co-doped carbon electrocatalyst is one of the most attractive alternatives to Pt/C catalysts due to its high catalytic activity, excellent stability and low cost. However, obtaining stable and efficient Fe, N co-doped carbon oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalysts based on simple processes is still a challenge. Herein, Fe, N co-doped porous carbon (Fe–N–C) with an open macroporous frame structure is prepared by using inorganic molten salts (FeCl3·6H2O and ZnCl2) and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid as the template and nitrogen-containing carbon precursor, respectively. The open pore structure of the Fe–N–C material precisely tailored with the inorganic molten salt template exhibits high specific surface area (676.5 m2 g−1) and appropriate pore size, which can promote oxygen adsorption and expand the oxygen reduction interface, resulting in the acceleration of the electron/charge transfer processes and an improved electrocatalytic performance. The optimized Fe3–N–C-800 electrocatalyst exhibits good catalytic activity for ORR, such as high onset potential of 0.998 V and half wave potential of 0.84 V in alkaline media, as well as high stability and methanol tolerance. Furthermore, a novel Zn–air battery assembled with carbon paper containing Fe3–N–C-800 electrocatalyst as air cathode shows high open-circuit voltage (1.485 V), high specific capacity (870 mA h g−1 at 10 mA cm−2), excellent reversibility and stability. The proposed synthetic strategy provides new opportunities to design and construct carbon frame materials with the desired open macroporous structure to improve their electrocatalytic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chiral Ph-dbfox (Ph-dbfox = (R,R)-4,6-dibenzofurandiyl-2,2′-bis(4-phenyloxazoline))/Zn(NTf2)2catalyzed enantioselective Friedel–Crafts reactions of β-CF3acrylates with pyrroles and indoles have been investigated, which afforded the corresponding chiral trifluoromethyl pyrrole and indole derivatives in high yields (90–99%) with a range of 66–99% ee values. With the aid of the chiral adduct of the asymmetric Friedel–Crafts reaction, the chiral trifluoromethylated heliotridane has been successfully constructed in good total yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Selective oxidation of tetralin by molecular oxygen over mesoporous CrMCM-41 molecular sieve catalyst using supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) solvent has been investigated. CrMCM-41 catalyst gave high selectivity (96.2%) and good yield (63.4%) of 1-tetralone. The presence of scCO2medium improves 1-tetralone selectivity and suppresses leaching of chromium from the CrMCM-41. The activity over recycled CrMCM-41 remains nearly the same under the present experimental conditions. The effect of the reaction parameters on CrMCM-41 was also studied in detail along with comparison of its catalytic activities with other mesoporous catalysts, viz.MnMCM-41, CoMCM-41, microporous CrAPO-5, CoMFI, and macroporous Cr/SiO2catalyst, respectively. In addition this catalytic system was also applied for the oxidation of other benzylic compounds such as indane, fluorene, acenaphthene and diphenylmethane. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CuO/CeO2 catalysts were widely studied as an alternative to precious metal catalysts, and the Cu–Ce synergy was essential to improve the catalytic performance. In this paper, the effects of CuO loading on Cu–Ce synergy in CuO/CeO2 nanorod catalysts and their performance in toluene combustion were systematically investigated. It was found that non-equilibrium plasma facilitated the dispersion of CuO active species on the CeO2 surface. With the increase of the CuO loading from 1 wt% to 4 wt%, the Cu–Ce synergistic effect was gradually improved, which generated Cu+/Cu2+ and Ce3+/Ce4+ redox electron pairs. The highest oxygen vacancy concentration and Cu+ content of CuCe-4 (4 wt%) resulting from strong Cu–Ce synergy accelerated the activation of chemisorbed oxygen and consequently improved the efficiency of toluene catalytic combustion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction reaction (ECO2RR) is an effective means to promote carbon cycling. Recently, Bi-based metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have attracted significant attention due to their high efficiency for formic acid generation in ECO2RR, however, their composition and morphology transformation during electrocatalysis still lack a deep exploration. Herein, a Bi-MOF with 2,4,6-tris(4-carboxyphenyl)-1,3,5-triazine (H3TATB) ligand is used as the prototype to investigate its in situ transformation during ECO2RR. With various characterization methods, the detailed transformation processes are revealed. Firstly, the Bi-MOF was transformed into Bi2O2CO3 due to ligand substitution in KHCO3 electrolyte, resulting in changes in both shape and composition. Secondly, during ECO2RR, the Bi3+ ions can be reduced into metallic Bi0 nanoparticles and act as the real active component for ECO2RR. The resultant catalyst exhibits a high selectivity of up to 94.3% towards formate generation. At an optimal potential of −1.08 V vs. RHE, the catalyst can maintain a current density of −25 mA cm−2 and a faradaic efficiency of formate over 90% for 14.5 hours. This work not only develops an efficient electrocatalyst for ECO2RR but also provides a new insight into the in situ reconstruction of MOF precursor into the active catalyst, which is useful for the design and synthesis of other materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is of great significance for chemical energy storage devices, especially for the practical application of rechargeable zinc–air batteries (ZABs), to find efficient and economical bifunctional catalysts. Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have recently become hot research materials, and are often used as precursors of catalysts. This paper reports a carbon skeleton-coated bimetallic sulfide derived from MOF nanostructures that were used as cathode catalysts for ZABs. The N,S co-doped carbon-loaded FeS2,CoS2 ((Co,Fe)S2/CNS) catalysts exhibit excellent electrochemical properties in alkaline solutions due to the protection of metal sulfides by the carbon structure, the synergy of bimetallic Fe and Co, and the high surface area of the carbon skeleton. (Co,Fe)S2/CNS catalysts show a very low potential difference (ΔE = 0.68 V), a high specific capacity (759.1 mA h g−1) and good charge–discharge cycling performance (360 cycles/120 h) when applied to ZABs. This indicates that the prepared (Co,Fe)S2/CNS catalysts have a broad application prospect in the field of ZABs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liquid phase oxidation of 2-methylnaphthalene (2-MN) is a common synthetic route for the preparation of 2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone (2-MNQ). Metal-free carbon materials doped with heteroatoms have been proven to have excellent catalytic potential in various reaction fields. In this paper, the catalytic performance of N, F co-doped benzoxazine carbon materials for the selective oxidation of 2-MN was studied. The results show that the catalyst obtained at a carbonization temperature of 700 °C has the best catalytic performance. Under optimized conditions, the 2-MN conversion is 97.9%, and the 2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone selectivity is 84.3%. In addition, this catalyst still exhibits good catalytic activity after five cycles. Based on the experimental and characterization results, graphitic nitrogen species play a key role in the catalytic reaction and there is an almost linear relationship between the F content and the selectivity of 2-MNQ. This work provides a greener and more efficient method for the preparation of 2-MNQ with N/F co-doped mesoporous carbon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the effects of Zr, Al or Sr doped Mn/MCM-41 on NH3-SCR activity, SO2/H2O resistance and mechanism were studied. The results showed that Mn/Zr-MCM-41 has 100% NOx conversion at 175–300 °C while Mn/Al-MCM-41 achieves about 94% N2 selectivity at 120–400 °C. Zr doping significantly enhances the resistance to SO2 at 200 °C while Sr plays a negative role. Doped metal does not change the ordered hexagonal arrangement of MCM-41, but can cause the specific surface area enrichment of Mn while Al doping leads to the entry of Mn into the channel of MCM-41. Mn/MCM-41 has only Lewis acid sites, but Zr, Al or Sr doped catalysts have Lewis and Brønsted acid sites. Moreover, the reaction path on Mn/MCM-41 and Mn/Zr-MCM-41 mainly conforms to the L–H mechanism while Mn–Al or Mn–Sr doped catalysts follow L–H and E–R mechanisms. However, the deposited sulfates change the progress of the NH3-SCR process and cause a decline of SCR activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the effects of sulfuric acid treatment of a ZrO2 support (ZrO2-S) on the Ca resistance of CeO2 catalysts were investigated. The results showed that the CeO2/ZrO2-S catalyst exhibited much better SCR activity and Ca resistance compared with the CeO2/ZrO2 catalyst. To further reveal the Ca resistance mechanism, BET, XRD, Raman, XPS, H2-TPR, NH3-TPD and in situ DRIFTS were used to characterize the changes in structure and properties of the CeO2/ZrO2 and CeO2/ZrO2-S catalysts before and after the Ca deactivation tests. The Ca poisoning of the CeO2/ZrO2 catalysts was mainly due to the decrease in specific surface area and surface acidity, the loss of reducibility and the enhanced stabilization of adsorbed nitrate/nitrite species. The treatment of ZrO2 with sulfate acid led to an increased specific surface area and highly-dispersed Ce species at the catalyst surface. It was also beneficial to inhibiting the transformation of ZrO2 from the tetragonal to the monoclinic phase. Moreover, it also enhanced the redox properties, Ce3+ species ratio, total surface acidity (especially Brønsted acid sites), and adsorption of NH3 species. The SCR reactions via both Langmuir–Hinshelwood (L–H) and Eley–Rideal (E–R) mechanisms could proceed well even after the CeO2/ZrO2-S catalysts were subjected to Ca poisoning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The efficient transformation of glucose into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) is crucial for sustainable bio-refinery processes, but achieving high production efficiency remains challenging. In this study, we presented the preparation of Al-containing metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), specifically MIL-53(Al), MIL-53(Al)-NO2, and MIL-53(Al)-NH2, using different ligands as catalysts to enhance the production of 5-HMF from glucose. Comprehensive characterization provided valuable insights into the properties of the synthesized MOFs. The synthesized MOFs exhibited varied MIL-53(Al) states, morphologies, and thermal stabilities based on the different ligands employed, which in turn affected their catalytic performance. Among the Al-containing MOFs synthesized, MIL-53(Al)-NH2 demonstrated remarkable catalytic capabilities for the conversion of glucose to 5-HMF. This MOF achieved an impressive 5-HMF yield of 53% and a reaction selectivity of 54%. The catalytic efficiency was further enhanced by leveraging the synergistic effect of MIL-53(Al)-NH2 in combination with Amberlyst-36, resulting in a 5-HMF yield of 59% and a reaction selectivity of 60%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work reports the high catalytic performances of Cu–Co–O/N-doped carbon materials toward the hydrogenation reduction and advanced oxidation reactions of 4-nitrophenol (PNP). By incorporating Cu2+ and Co2+ with atomic ratios from 1 : 9 to 1 : 4, 1 : 2, 1 : 1, 9 : 1, and 19 : 1, catalysts prepared at 500 °C in air via sol–gel method demonstrated superior catalytic ability toward the two reactions than those prepared at 600 °C. The crystalline phase of the catalyst with an atomic ratio of 1 : 1 was determined to be CuO and Cu0.92Co2.08O4, and a reaction time of 4.5 min and activity parameter of 300 s−1 g−1 could be obtained for the reduction reaction of PNP over this CuO–Cu0.92Co2.08O4/N-doped carbon material when the NaBH4 : PNP molar ratio was 100 : 1. The activity parameters were 300 s−1 g−1 and 294 s−1 g−1 for catalysts with Cu2+ : Co2+ atomic ratios of 1 : 9 and 19 : 1, respectively, and the main contribution toward the catalytic performance is discussed in terms of oxygen vacancies or synergistic effects. The CuO–Cu0.92Co2.08O4/N-doped carbon material also had desirable catalytic ability toward the advanced oxidation reaction of PNP using peroxymonosulfate (PMS) as an oxidation agent, whereby an activity parameter of 51.7 s−1 g−1 could be obtained when the PMS : PNP molar ratio was 14 : 1. Our results provide new insights into promoting the catalytic property of transitional oxide-based catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The commercialization of magnesia–air batteries (Mg–air) necessitates the development of highly efficient, cost-effective, and durable electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), replacing expensive and unstable precious metal electrocatalysts. A hard template-assisted synthesis of FeCo nanoparticles immobilized on N-doped porous carbon (Fe–Co–C–N) for the ORR is reported. The half-wave potential of Fe–Co–C–N for ORR (E1/2 = 0.88 V vs. RHE) is elevated by 40 mV compared to that of 20 wt% Pt/C (E1/2 = 0.84 vs. RHE). The catalyst exhibits exceptional catalytic performance and remarkable stability. The discharge voltage of the Mg–air battery, utilizing Fe–Co–C–N as the cathode catalyst (1.29 V), surpasses that of the battery employing 20 wt% Pt/C as the cathode catalyst (1.28 V). The Mg–air battery with Fe–Co–C–N as the cathode catalyst exhibited excellent discharge stability and maintained a stable discharge for over 200 hours. The present study offers valuable insights into the structural design and regulatory mechanisms governing the performance of M–N–C catalysts in Mg–air batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

4-Nitrophenol (4-NP) is an important industrial intermediate that poses serious ecological risks and affects human health if exposed directly to the environment without treatment. 4-NP is less toxic when reduced to 4-aminophenol (4-AP) and can be used in a wide range of applications. In this study, copper-loaded chitin/hydroxyapatite composite hydrogels (Ch/HA-Cu) were prepared by in situ reduction of Cu2+. The catalytic reduction performance of Ch/HA-Cu catalysts for 4-NP was investigated. 10 mg of Ch/HA-Cu catalysts reduced 4-NP (0.1 mM) in 4 min. The increase in the starting concentration of 4-NP significantly improved the reduction of 4-NP, but also prolonged the reaction time. The activation energy required for the reduction of 4-NP by Ch/HA-Cu was about 40.68 kJ mol−1 and the reaction rate constant k was 0.61 min−1. The interfering substances affected the replacement efficiency of the reactants on the surface of Ch/HA-Cu and slowed down the reaction. The catalytic efficiency of Ch/HA-Cu for the reduction of 4-NP still reached more than 97% after five cycles of experiments, showing excellent catalytic activity and reaction stability for 4-NP, indicating that the prepared Ch/HA-Cu can be used as an economical and reusable multiphase reactor for the abatement of organic pollutants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Co–Mo sulfides with tube-like structures were prepared through a low-temperature pre-sulfurization process using rod-like CoMoO4 as the precursor. Pre-sulfurization solvents with different polarities markedly affected the textural properties, the concentration and microstructure of the active components, and the catalytic deoxygenation activity. The increased solvent polarity can promote the formation of hollow structures and the degree of sulfurization of the precursor, and the appropriate polarity of pre-sulfurization solvents is helpful for the sulfurization of CoMoO4 to form (Co)MoS2 slabs with shorter lengths and greater stacking numbers, which means more coordinatively unsaturated sites, especially corner sites. The results of the hydrodeoxygenation reaction of stearic acid suggested that a higher fc/fe resulted in a greater reaction rate of stearic acid, and the yields of the liquid products were highly dependent on the number of surface-active sites, which mainly originated from type II CoMoS species. Moreover, increasing the reaction temperature favored the direct hydrodeoxygenation pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of Cd(II) complexes, [(PPh3)2Cd(SCOf)2] (1), [PPh4]2[Cd(SCOf)2(μ-Br)]2 (2), [(PPh3)2Ag(μ2-SCOf)2Cd(SCOf)] (3), Na2[(PPh3)Cd(MeOH)(SCOf)3]2 (4a) and Na2[(PPh3)Cd(SCOf)3]2.C7H8 (4b) (Where SCOf = furan-2-thiocarboxylate), have been synthesized and characterized by single crystal X-ray analysis and other spectroscopic techniques. Complexes 1 and 2 show distorted tetrahedral and distorted trigonal bipyramidal geometries around Cd(II), respectively. In the case of 3, Cd(II) exhibits a trigonal prismatic structure, whereas, Ag(I) is at the center of a distorted tetrahedron. Complex 4, has a trigonal pyramidal geometry, hitherto unknown for a Cd(II) center. The catalytic activities of complexes for the synthesis of dihydropyrimidinone have been investigated. Out of four complexes, complex 4 is the most efficient catalyst for the one-pot multicomponent Biginelli-type coupling toward the synthesis of dihydropyrimidinone. Excellent yields of the desired products were obtained with very low catalyst loadings (1 mol%). With a few examples, the versatility and scope of the method have also been demonstrated. The catalysts were also tested for their recyclability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The performance of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) can be enhanced through the utilization of multi-heteroatom doped, porous, and layered electrocatalysts. Nitrogen-doped graphene-like porous carbon (Cu–Fe–CN) was synthesized via a simple and cost-effective NaCl template method using maltose, FeCl3·6H2O, and CuCl2·H2O as precursors. This material exhibits excellent electrocatalytic activity towards the ORR. During the electrocatalysis process, the maltose-derived graphene-like porous carbon possesses abundant pores that facilitate rapid mass and electron transfer. Additionally, the incorporation of polyatomic dopants and the construction of the porous carbon framework result in an abundance of active sites. The optimized Cu–Fe–CN electrocatalyst exhibited a more positive half-wave potential (E1/2 = 0.87 V) in alkaline media, surpassing that of the commercial Pt/C (E1/2 = 0.84 V), and demonstrated exceptional durability. The average discharge voltage of Al–air batteries with the Cu–Fe–CN catalyst is always higher than that of Al–air batteries with the commercial Pt/C catalyst, at the same current density. The present study showcases a convenient approach for fabricating porous low-metal catalysts for the ORR, highlighting their immense potential in ORR catalysis and aluminum–air batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To reduce the side reactions and increase olefin selectivity in the dehydrogenation process, a series of low-loaded Pt-based catalysts supported on -Al2O3 (with or without potassium (K) modification) were prepared. The K modification effect on the n-hexane dehydrogenation performances of Pt/Al2O3 catalysts was investigated using various techniques. The added K species selectively occupied the strong acid sites on the Pt/Al2O3 surface, leading to not only the regulated surface acid properties but also the modified metallic function. Specifically, adding an appropriate amount of K reduced the number of acid sites and increased the electron cloud density of Pt sites, leading to enhanced selectivity and stability. Furthermore, the moderate amount of acid sites kept Pt highly dispersed and provided a suitable geometric structure, resulting in good activity. Herein, the Pt–0.8K/Al2O3 catalyst with suitable metal–acid site balance shows an n-hexane conversion of 25% with over 70% C6 olefin selectivity. More importantly, a significantly low deactivation rate at 500 °C for 30 h is superior to most previously reported ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The exploration and development of efficient and cost-effective oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalysts for non-metallic biomass have emerged as a crucial avenue for synthesizing diverse carbon nanomaterials. We synthesized a nitrogen and sulfur co-doped porous three-dimensional graphene-like carbon nanosheet. The present study employed Ginkgo biloba leaves as the raw material, and a significant number of nanopores were obtained through pre-carbonization treatment followed by high-temperature activation treatment using KOH, along with acidification to eliminate inorganic minerals. The specific surface area of the carbon material was increased to 2219.64 m2 g−1, resulting in enhanced electrocatalytic performance. The results demonstrate that the optimized N,S co-doped carbon material (TKGLC-2) outperformed 20 wt% Pt/C in all key electrochemical performance parameters as an ORR catalyst. The exceptional ORR properties, ease of preparation, and large surface area suggest that the findings offer a promising prototype template for designing and constructing reliable biochar derived from biomass for potential electrochemical energy and storage applications. This highlights its feasibility as an ORR electrocatalyst in potential applications such as fuel cells and metal–air batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a Ce-W/TiO2-mSiO2 catalyst was prepared by a co-precipitation method with the addition of silicon acid to enhance and broaden the denitrification (deNOx) efficiency and temperature range of the Ce-W/TiO2 catalyst. The test results of deNOx performance showed that temperature ranges of the 80% and 90% deNOx efficiencies of the Ce-W/TiO2 catalyst with 30% silicic acid were increased by 35 °C and 30 °C, respectively, and the highest deNOx efficiency was increased to 99.53% compared with that without silicic acid. Moreover, the XRD, BET, SEM, XPS, NH3-TPD and H2-TPR analysis revealed that strong water absorption of silicic acid provided more SiO2 for the catalyst to increase its specific surface area. Meanwhile, the volume of a TiO2 cell increased and the crystallinity of CeO2 decreased, which enhanced the number of Lewis and Brønsted acid sites on the catalyst surface and promoted the deNOx reaction. Besides, the ratios of Ce3+ and Oα on the catalyst surface were about doubled with the addition of 30% silicic acid, thus improving the deNOx performance of the catalyst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploring active catalyst components is very important to develop high-performance and highly stable ORR electrocatalysts to replace costly Pt-based catalysts, though it remains an ongoing challenge. In this paper, three ORR catalysts with different active components were obtained by calcination of different proportions of mixed precursors simply and delicately. Among them, precursor 1 (bimetallic polymer Fe/Zn-ZIFs@ZnCO3) played the role of a self-sacrificing template, while precursor 2 (an N, P-co-doped polymer) played the role of a volatile atmosphere. Precursor 2 also embedded N and P heteroatoms into the carbon framework during high-temperature volatilization, which resulted in subtle changes in the active catalyst components. Finally, a hybrid of metal Fe and α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles embedded in N, P-codoped carbon nanotubes with many separated gullies (named α-Fe2O3/Fe@NPC) exhibited excellent ORR catalytic activity in an alkaline solution as compared to commercial Pt/C. This work provides a new strategy for designing controllable active components using volatile precursors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a Co--Fe LDO catalyst was prepared by combining K2Cr2O7 and Cr(NO3)3 to modify the LDH precursor. The catalytic activity of NOx and o-DCB was systematically studied, and the effect of gas composition on the catalytic activity was investigated. The prepared Cr (0.25)/Co--Fe LDO catalyst showed the best catalytic performance, with conversion efficiencies of NOx and o-DCB of 89.0% and 81.6% at 250 °C, respectively. The catalysts were characterized by XRD, BET, SEM, XPS, H2-TPD and NH3-TPD to explore the reaction activity. In addition, the interaction between NH3-SCR and o-DCB oxidation was investigated by changing the gas atmosphere. The results showed that the inhibition at low temperature (< 200 °C) could be attributed to the residues of the by-products of incomplete oxidation. The further oxidation of NO to NO2, and the dissociation of NH3 are the reasons for the mutual promotion of the two reactions in the middle and high temperature sections. Water vapor has little effect on the reaction and the introduction of SO2 will cause irreversible inactivation of the catalyst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the synergistic effects of different metal sites, the double atom or multiple atomic catalysts are very promising for use in electrocatalysis. This paper focuses on the synthesis of urea [CO(NH2)2] under the synergistic effects of bimetallics. The heteronuclear diatomic molecular catalysts were designed and screened, and the details and energy information of the elementary reactions were provided from the atomic level using theoretical simulation, which provided a new understanding for the study of the reaction mechanism. It was found that the NbVN6C catalyst was the best catalyst for the electrosynthesis of CO(NH2)2 (0.37 eV < 0.44 eV < 0.67 eV < 0.74 eV < 0.84 eV for NbVN6C, TaVN6C, WVN6C, MoVN6C, ReVN6C, respectively), and the optimal path was * → *N2 → *NN → *NNH → *NNH2 → *HNNH2 → *H2NNH2 → *H2NNH2–CO2 → *H2NNH2–COOH → *H2NCONH2. At the same time, compared with the homonuclear diatomic catalyst V2N6C, the heteronuclear diatomic molecular catalyst NbVN6C had a smaller limiting potential (−0.37 V and −0.59 V), which demonstrated the usefulness of this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synthesiszing highly catalytically active and stable non noble metal oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts with controlled coordination environments at room temperature and probing the relationship between coordination environments and active centers remain challenging. Herein, a series of monomeric particles composed of different coordination environments, Fe–(NH2)4–C, Fe–(NH2)3/OH–C, Fe–(NH2)/(OH)3–C and Fe–(NH2)2/(OH)2–C, were synthesized by means of the response of chitosan salt (HACC) ionomers to pH values in solution at room temperature. The experimental results show that the active center of amine catalysts enables them to exhibit enhanced performance with a low overpotential of 255 mV at 10 mA cm−2 maintaining favorable stability (only 1.3% loss of current density after 12 h) for the OER in a low amino coordination environment (Fe–NH2/(OH)3–C). Therefore, the selection of a suitable coordination environment is the key to the synthesis of efficient and highly stable ionomer-based catalysts. This work provides a practical reference for the design of efficient catalysts in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of mesoporous ceria-supported vanadium oxide catalysts were prepared and explored for aerobic oxidation of ethylbenzene to acetophenone without the involvement of any solvent or additive. Catalysts with varying contents of V2O5 (3, 6, and 10 wt%) on a mesoporous CeO2 support were prepared by the wet-impregnation method. Catalysts were characterized using techniques namely, XRD, Raman spectroscopy, BET surface area analysis, ICP-OES, FE-SEM, HR-TEM, XPS, and H2-TPR to establish a correlation between the physicochemical properties and catalytic performance. Among the investigated catalysts, the catalyst with 6 wt% of V2O5 on mesoporous ceria showed better activity with 69% ethylbenzene conversion and 88% acetophenone selectivity. The superior activity of this catalyst was ascribed to a strong synergetic interaction between ceria and vanadia as well as the formation of a CeVO4 phase, and a high specific surface area. The reaction parameters like temperature, pressure, and the amount of catalyst were optimized for possible commercial utilization. The stability of the catalyst was also investigated by the reusability test and was found to be stable and active up to five cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The CaO-supported Pt nanoparticle catalysts, herein referred to as the Pt/CaO-P catalysts, were synthesized for the first time to catalyze the selective hydrogenation of styrene oxide. All previously reported Pt- and Pd-based catalysts were prepared and evaluated under identical conditions, with 2-phenylethanol (2-PEA) being identified as the primary product in the selective hydrogenation of styrene oxide. The comparative analysis of the catalytic performance of Pt/CaO-P, Pt/CaO (unpurified), Pt/Ca(OH)2, and Pt/CaCO3 revealed that the purity of CaO is crucial for enhancing the selectivity towards 1-phenylethanol (1-PEA). Notably, the highest selectivity of 1-PEA over Pt/CaO-P reached up to 39%. Our SO-TPD, CO2-TPD and ex situ FT-IR results further indicated that strong basic sites can modify the adsorption site of SO over Pt nanoparticles, leading to the higher selectivity of 1-PEA. A proposed reaction mechanism for the ring opening of styrene oxide suggests that the breakage of conjugation between the benzene ring and the adjacent carbon cation by strong basic sites plays an important role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NiO-based materials hold great promise as oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts owing to their high intrinsic OER activity and good chemical stability. Herein, Ni/NiO/C hollow microspheres with high activity were successfully fabricated through a facile one-step mist chemical vapor deposition (mist-CVD) process using ethanolamine and nickel chloride as precursors. The high-temperature pyrolysis of the organic precursor yields a significant quantity of gas, leading to a rapid increase in pressure within the droplet, which prompts the nanoparticles to aggregate on the surface of the droplet and form a hollow structure. The crystal phase and morphology of the samples can be modulated through optimizing the decomposition temperature, and particularly, Ni/NiO/C porous hollow microspheres synthesized at 600 °C (Ni-600) presented the best OER activity, exhibiting an overpotential at 10 mA cm−2 (η10) of 286.4 mV and a Tafel slope of 54.8 mV dec−1. The outstanding OER electrocatalytic performance of Ni/NiO/C hollow microspheres is ascribed to the improved electronic conductivity facilitated by the existence of metallic Ni and amorphous C, coupled with the relatively large specific surface area derived from the unique hollow structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a dual-functional catalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), Ru clusters have great potential, but there are certain difficulties regarding their stability on the substrate and the tunability of their electronic environment. Here, the S doped graphited biochar aerogel electrocatalyst was designed and synthesized using terrestrial lignin and algal polysaccharide as a carbon substrate. The Ru clusters were anchored on the S-doped carbon aerogel (P-Ru/SC) by carefully designing the Ru-S bond via a novel plasma assisted high temperature carbonization treatment. The optimized P-Ru/SC-2 catalyst exhibits excellent electrocatalytic performance for the HER and OER, achieving ultra-small overpotentials of 119.6 mV and 193.4 mV at 10 mA cm-2. The dual-electrode requires only 1.47 V to reach 10 mA cm-2. It is worth noting that a large number of S sites on graphited carbon can strongly interact with the Ru clusters, significantly improving the catalytic activity and stability for the HER and OER. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) to 4-aminophenol (4-AP) has been efficiently catalyzed by in situ generated Bi0-BiOX (X = Cl, Br, I) nanocomposites in the presence of sodium borohydride (NaBH4). The hierarchical 3D arrays of precursors (BiOCl, BiOBr, and BiOI) have been synthesized by a facile coprecipitation method at ambient temperature. The metallic Bi0 is generated in situ by partial reduction of the Bi3+ ions in BiOX (X = Cl, Br, and I) mediated by NaBH4 during the conversion of 4-NP to 4-AP. In situ generated Bi0-BiOX shows better catalytic activity than Bi0-BiOX composite formed by mixing individually synthesized metallic Bi0 particles with semiconducting BiOX nanoparticles. The Bi0-BiOI nanocomposite demonstrated higher catalytic activity (kapp = 0.529 min-1) compared to Bi0-BiOCl (kapp = 0.095 min-1) and Bi0-BiOBr (kapp = 0.098 min-1) due to its efficient conversion into metallic Bi0. The approximate percentage composition of in situ generated metallic Bi0 on the surface of BiOCl, BiOBr, and BiOI is nearly 10, 17, and 25%, respectively. Further, the reduction of 4-NP has been completed within 24, 22, and 6 minutes by in situ generated Bi0-BiOCl, Bi0-BiOBr, and Bi0-BiOI nanocomposites from BiOCl, BiOBr, and BiOI, respectively. Extensive studies have been conducted to generate a better understanding of the actual catalytic sites present on the surface of the catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 5 wt% Ru/AC catalysts were prepared using the impregnation method. The catalysts were characterized by N2 physical adsorption, XRD, SEM, EDX, TEM and ICP-AES. The catalytic activity and stability of the catalysts in decomposing hydroxylamine nitrate (HAN) and hydrazine nitrate (HN) in nitric acid were evaluated. The results demonstrated that the Ru/AC catalyst effectively decomposed HAN and HN with complete conversion under moderate reaction conditions (60–90 °C). When used for an extended duration of 1580 hours in radioactive nitric acid waste liquid, this catalyst displayed a remarkable processing capacity of 6.32 kilograms per gram of catalyst. Due to its environmentally friendly nature resulting from harmless gas product formation along with its simple device structure design, this protocol offers practicality and economic attractiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing low-cost and efficient catalysts for the oxidation of formaldehyde (HCHO) is crucial for preservation of the environment. The main challenge of this study is how to develop an efficient, stable, and inexpensive catalyst that can oxidize HCHO at low temperatures. Herein, the reduced Mn-doped cobalt tetroxide R-MnxCo3−xO4 catalyst was prepared by simple co-precipitation and annealing treatment followed by reduction of NaBH4. The prepared R-MnxCo3−xO4 showed remarkable enhanced activity for HCHO oxidation at low temperature. The R-MnCo2O4 catalyst can oxidize and decompose 79% of HCHO at a low temperature of 50 °C and exhibits excellent catalytic stability. The improved catalytic activity can be attributed to the increase in oxygen vacancy concentration and the improvement in redox performance. The TGA test shows that the content of oxygen vacancies in the R-MnCo2O4 catalyst can reach 5.77% (atomic ratio). The H2-TPR, O2-TPD and O2-TPO tests indicated that the surface oxygen vacancies can promote oxygen mobility and facilitate the formation of reactive oxygen species during the formaldehyde catalytic oxidation process. This study reveals the importance of surface oxygen vacancies in improving the catalytic oxidation activity of catalysts, providing possibilities for the development of high-performance catalysts through atomic doping and reduction modification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The synthesis of a hierarchical SSZ-13 zeolite with mesopores and micropores is one of the most effective strategies to overcome the diffusion limitation imposed by the micropores of SSZ-13 in reactions involving bulky reactants or intermediates. A zeolite with nanosheet morphology possesses the advantages of large inter-sheet mesopore volume, more accessible acid sites and short diffusion path lengths. Nevertheless, only a few works focused on the synthesis of the nanosheet-assembled SSZ-13 zeolite. In this work, a nanosheet-assembled hierarchical SSZ-13-TP0.03 (thickness of 20 nm) zeolite was synthesized in a seed-assisted synthesis system by coupling a small amount of N, N, N-trimethyl-1-adamantylammonium hydroxide (TMAdaOH) with octadecyl-(3-trimethoxysilylpropyl)-ammonium chloride (TPOAC). In this strategy, the Si/Al ratio of the initial gel, seed, TPOAC and TMAdaOH amount in the synthesis system and the synergistic effects among them lead to the synthesis of SSZ-13 samples with various textural properties and morphologies. The distinct textural properties and morphologies of SSZ-13 result in the preparation of Pt/SSZ-13 catalysts with varied Pt dispersions. The catalyst, Pt supported on the nanosheet-assembled hierarchical SSZ-13 (Pt/SSZ-13-TP0.03), exhibits higher hydrogenation ability than its corresponding catalyst, Pt supported on microporous or hierarchical SSZ-13 in the hydrogenation of naphthalene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bi-based materials are promising catalysts for electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) to formate, but remain challenging in terms of activity and stability. Herein, we report the facile synthesis of Zn-doped Bi nanosheets (Zn–Bi NSs) as a highly active and robust catalyst for electrochemical reduction of CO2 to formate. Specifically, the Zn–Bi NS catalyst can be obtained using a hydrothermal method to prepare a Zn-decorated Bi2O2CO3 nanosheet followed by electrochemical reduction treatment. The as-prepared catalyst exhibits a remarkable formate faradaic efficiency of 94.6% and a high formate current density of 40.5 mA cm−2 at −1.2 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE). In particular, the faradaic efficiency of formate remained at above 90% over a wide potential window from −0.8 to −1.2 V vs. RHE. In the H-type electrolytic cell, the Zn–Bi NS catalyst can be operated stably for 10 h at a cathode potential of −1.0 V vs. RHE with good retention of the physical phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon-supported non-precious metal catalysts with highly exposed active sites have great potential for applications in the hydrogenation reduction of nitro compounds. Herein, a strategy for the preparation of carbon-supported Mo-based catalysts (Mo@C/MC) is proposed. Protein–Mo ion networks are first coated on the surface of microsphere carbons (MC). The coated MC employed as a precursor is then pyrolyzed to produce carbon-supported Mo-based catalysts. Notably, neither pore-forming agents nor post-treatment is required in the preparation of the catalyst. The active sites tend to disperse uniformly on the surface of the carbon matrix, facilitating the exposure of the active sites of the catalyst. The as-prepared catalyst Mo@C/MC shows high conversion (>99%) and selectivity (>98%) for the hydrogenation of nitro compounds under mild reaction conditions (100 °C, 5 bar H2). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study is focused on the synthesis of DHPMs by using NiCoSe2 and NiCo2S4 as heterogeneous catalysts, and they are characterized by using XRD, SEM, TEM, BET and XPS. The NiCoSe2 and NiCo2S4 catalysts proved to be the most suitable catalytic system when compared to conventionally reported catalysts in terms of yield and reaction time. NiCoSe2 and NiCo2S4 are environment-friendly catalysts and can be recycled over 5 cycles with a negligible loss in the catalytic performance. Thus, the synthesized catalysts were successfully utilized in the synthesis of biologically active DHPMs, and all compounds were characterized using mass and NMR spectroscopic techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A potassium (K)-promoted Ru-based siliceous molecular sieve catalyst, K-nRu-MCM-41, was successfully synthesized via a hydrothermal method. The combined analysis of XRD, FT-IR and XPS data revealed that Ru exists in the framework of the molecular sieves as RuO2 species, leading to structural alterations. SEM and TEM images demonstrated that Ru doping disrupts the morphology of the molecular sieves, while K addition effectively preserves the original morphology and further enhances particle dispersion. The ammonia decomposition performance test indicated that K promotes the activity of the molecular sieve catalysts. At 450 °C and 12 000 mL gcat−1 h−1, K-4Ru-MCM-41 achieved 82.7% ammonia conversion and 253.6 mmol gRu−1 min−1 hydrogen production, respectively, which was a 7.6% increase in ammonia conversion compared with 4Ru-MCM-41. Furthermore, the K-4Ru-MCM-41 catalyst exhibited excellent reusability, maintaining its stable catalytic activity performance after 30 h. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of SO42−/TiO2 solid superacid catalysts were prepared under different conditions. The effect of different preparation conditions on the SO42−/TiO2 catalyst was investigated by evaluating the change of its crystallinity, chemical structure and acid content. The catalytic performance of the SO42−/TiO2 catalyst was evaluated by α-pinene isomerization in a continuous fixed bed reactor. When ammonia was used as the precipitation agent, the concentration of sulfuric acid impregnation solution was 2 M, and the calcination temperature was 500 °C, the activity of the SO42−/TiO2 catalyst reached the maximum, the conversion rate of α-pinene was stable at about 95%, and the selectivity of camphene reached 40%. It was found that the structure and textural properties of the SO42−/TiO2 catalyst did not change significantly after regeneration by studying the regeneration performance of the SO42−/TiO2 catalyst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents a pioneering nanohybrid catalyst featuring hierarchically porous dual-functional (acid–base) active sites, which is a versatile catalyst for the crucial bio-glycerol acetalization reaction. The nanohybrid catalyst demonstrated remarkable efficiency in converting bio-diesel derived waste glycerol into excellent green fuel additive 'solketal,' achieving an unprecedented yield of approximately 99%. Insights into the structural properties and the relationship between the structure and properties of the catalyst were obtained through various characterization techniques, including FTIR spectroscopy, XRD, NH3-TPD, CO2-TPD, 27Al-NMR spectroscopy, SEM, TEM, UV-Vis spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The hybrid catalyst shows several highly desirable properties, including enhanced acidity, a strong affinity for reactants, mesoporosity, stability, and the proximity of potent acidic and basic sites. Simplicity, cost-effectiveness, exceptional recyclability, and resistance to moisture make the synthesized MgAl-oxide/HZSM-5 (MAZ) nanohybrid catalyst an appealing candidate for potential commercial applications in bio-refinery processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Designing an efficient zeolite-introduced novel Fe-based catalyst is essential for the direct production of gasoline fuels via coupling Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (FTS) and catalytic cracking reactions. Herein, we constructed a novel Fe2O3 cage catalyst with a hierarchical porous structure, which served as FTS sites for physically mixing with porous ZSM5 to provide catalytic cracking sites. The hybrid Fe + ZSM5(27) catalyst achieved an excellent gasoline fuel (C5–C11) selectivity of 62.7 wt%, outperforming traditionally supported and physically mixed catalysts. Moreover, the aromatic content was 22.1% in terms of C5+ hydrocarbons, which was within the range of the restricted aromatic content. The enhanced catalytic performance can be attributed to the Si/Al ratio governing the oligomerization reaction. ZSM5 with a suitable Si/Al ratio can promote the oligomerization of C2–C4 olefins to produce desired C5–C11 hydrocarbons. Fe + ZSM5(27) with a Si/Al ratio of 27 demonstrated a prominent CO conversion of 93.6% with a higher C5–C11 selectivity of 62.7 wt%. This work provides a promising strategy for designing multifunctional catalysts to modulate product distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-precious metal catalysts play a significant role in the field of hydrogenation. This study synthesized Co-BTC from cobalt nitrate hexahydrate and 1,3,5-tricarboxylic acid benzene. By changing the calcination temperature of Co-BTC in an inert atmosphere, a series of novel non-precious metal Co/C microsphere catalysts were successfully prepared. The composition and structure of the Co/C-n catalysts were characterised by FESEM, TEM, XRD, IR, XPS and BET. These results confirm that 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylic acid provides a rich carbon matrix and metallic Co nanoparticles are generated by self-reduction on the carbon matrix. The graphite matrix formed during the calcination process has a rich pore structure and good dispersion of active components on the catalyst surface, which is very favourable for the catalytic reaction. In the hydrogenation of o-chloronitrobenzene (o-CNB) to o-chloroaniline (o-CAN), the Co/C-500 catalyst showed the best catalytic performance. At 80 °C and 2 MPa H2 for 60 minutes, the conversion rate of o-CNB reached 99% and the selectivity reached 99%. When the reaction takes 5 minutes, the conversion rate reaches 10.5%, and the TOF value reaches 36.3 h−1. The Co/C-500 catalyst can be easily recycled and reused after reaction with the help of a magnetic field. Moreover, this catalyst is also effective in the selective hydrogenation of other nitroaromatic hydrocarbons containing halogen or unsaturated groups to corresponding aniline. This simple and direct synthesis method may lead to the economic production of large-scale Co/C catalysts, which is an attractive prospect for the industrial trial production of corresponding aniline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ni-based catalysts have been considered as an efficient anode material for urea fuel cells due to their low cost and high activity in alkaline media. Ni2P/NiCo2S4 catalyst grown on nickel foam was synthesized by hydrothermal synthesis and solid phosphating. The cathode material Pt/C was prepared using the drop-coating method, which has good oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity. H-type urea/O2 fuel cell was assembled and showed high energy density in alkaline solution at room temperature. X-Ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) were employed to characterize the Ni2P/NiCo2S4/NF catalyst. Results confirmed the formation of 3D flower-like microspheres from Ni2P/NiCo2S4/NF catalyst nanosheets. Electrochemical testing results indicated that the Ni2P/NiCo2S4/NF catalyst-decorated electrode can effectively promote urea oxidation and plays a leading role in improving the performance of fuel cells in 1 M KOH + 0.33 M urea. The H-type urea/O2 fuel cell possesses a high power density of 0.42 mW cm−2 at a cell potential of 0.45 V. To summarize, this study introduces a cheap but efficient electrode material as an anode catalyst for constructing urea fuel cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mg–Ba mixed oxide catalysts are synthesized using the co-precipitation method by varying the molar compositions of MgO and BaO. The catalysts' surface/structural properties are characterized by N2 physisorption, PXRD, CO2-TPD, FT-IR spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and laser Raman spectroscopy. The characterization results showed that the insertion of Mg2+ into the BaO lattice results in the generation of stable mixed oxide solid solutions. These catalysts are evaluated for continuous glycerol transesterification with dimethyl carbonate to yield glycerol carbonate under solvent free and atmospheric pressure conditions. The activity of catalysts mainly relied on strong basic centres (c-MgO) originating from Mg and Ba of different molar ratios and the catalyst with a 3 : 1 molar ratio exhibited an excellent glycerol carbonate yield of up to 70% with nearly 100% selectivity. The activities of the catalysts are well explained based on their surface-structural integrity. The catalysts exhibited exceptional stability during the time on stream study over a period of 100 h. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC) are a promising new energy source. However, the lack of high-performance and low-cost methanol oxidation electrocatalysts hinders their commercial application. Firstly, we successfully prepared NENU-5-derived molybdenum carbide material (Cu-MoC) via a co-precipitation and high-temperature carbonization method using a material composed of a copper-based metal–organic skeleton and a molybdenum-based carbide as the main body. Secondly, PtCu nano-alloy catalysts (Pt/Cu-MoC) were prepared using a unique, spontaneous single replacement reaction after metal–organic skeleton (MOF) carbonization. Through the synergistic effect between Pt and Cu and the strong interaction between Mo2C and PtCu, the electronic structure of the Pt is modified, the energy of the d-band center is reduced, electron exchange is accelerated, and catalytic activity is enhanced. Compared with a commercial Pt/C catalyst in alkaline environments, the Pt0.10/Cu-MoC catalyst has a better MOR catalytic activity (563.25 mA mgPt−1), which is 1.5 times higher than that of commercial Pt/C (376.67 mA mgPt−1). The Pt0.10/Cu-MoC catalyst has an onset potential for CO oxidation that is 16 mV lower than that of commercial Pt/C, indicating better resistance to CO poisoning. Exploring carbon materials derived from MOFs with excellent junction support and using them as carriers to prepare Pt-based catalysts is a practical and feasible approach. It provides a way to develop new Pt-based catalysts that perform efficient MOR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxidative esterification of furfural to methylfuroate was conducted in base-free medium over Au catalysts supported on ZrO2, CeO2, TiO2, ZnO and Al2O3, and the Au/Al2O3 catalyst exhibited a higher activity than the other prepared catalysts. The characterization results of these Au catalysts showed that the Au/Al2O3 catalyst possessed good dispersion of Au nanoparticles and suitable surface acidity, leading to better performance of the catalyst. The effects of reaction time, reaction temperature, initial O2 pressure and catalyst dosage on the oxidative esterification of furfural over Au/Al2O3 were investigated, and furfural conversion and methylfuroate selectivity reached 99.8% and ∼100%, respectively, under the conditions of 140 °C, 1 MPa O2, 1 h and 0.2 g catalyst. Meanwhile, the furfural/methanol mole ratio in this work was as high as 1/27, which is higher than that reported in the literature and is more promising for commercial application. The catalytic performance of Au/Al2O3 was found to decrease slightly with the use time, and the aggregation of Au particles in the reaction was suggested to account for the decrease in activity. The functional mechanism of the catalyst was investigated via contrast experiments, and it was speculated that the acid sites of Al2O3 might promote the adsorption of furfural on the surface of catalyst, and Au catalyzed both steps of the oxidative esterification of furfural to methylfuroate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of carbon-based catalysts to substitute Pt-based catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction is highly important for promoting their practical application in energy conversion. Herein, we prepare Zn, Fe and N-codoped porous carbon (Zn/Fe-NC-x) as a cathode catalyst via a facile one-step pyrolysis predesigned bimetallic zeolitic imidazole framework. Systematic electrochemical studies demonstrated that the synthesized Zn/Fe-NC-0.5 exhibits higher electrocatalytic activity towards the oxygen reduction reaction. In particular, Zn/Fe-NC-0.5 has a smaller charge transfer resistance, larger exchange current density, and much higher open circuit potential and mainly proceeds via an efficient four-electron pathway. A microbial fuel cell equipped with the synthesized catalyst exhibited the highest maximum power density of 1954 ± 20 mW m−2. In addition, the effects of the iron doping content on the oxygen reduction reaction performance and maximum power density were evaluated: a moderate Fe doping content plays a crucial role in improving the catalytic activity, and the synergistic effect of Zn, Fe and N codoping promotes cathodic performance. In brief, Zn/Fe-NC, which has the advantages of facile synthesis, environmental friendliness and excellent electrochemical activity, is a promising Pt-alternative catalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction in air-cathode microbial fuel cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study introduces a novel catalyst designated as 2.6% Co/MXene, comprising cobalt (Co) nanoparticles supported by MXene. The synthesis of the 2.6% Co/MXene catalyst involved direct pyrolysis of a composite material, composed of a Co/Zn bimetal metal–organic framework and MXene. Catalytic transfer hydrogenation of functionalized nitro compounds into the corresponding formamides employed formic acid as both the hydrogen donor and formylation agent, demonstrating remarkable activity and selectivity. Control experiments validated that Co nanoparticles served as the active sites for reductive transformation. Systematic characterization and comprehensive experiments have confirmed that the superior catalytic performance of the 2.6% Co/MXene catalyst can be attributed to the uniform distribution of Co nanoparticles, a high density of basic sites, and the 3D porous architecture of the MXene support. Furthermore, the 2.6% Co/MXene catalyst exhibited excellent recyclability, preserving its catalytic activity and selectivity across four consecutive cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, Ni–Co alloy particles embedded in mesoporous carbon hollow sphere (MCHS) catalysts were prepared by the one-pot Stöber method using SiO2 as a hard template and resorcinol–formaldehyde (RF) resin as a carbon source, and they were tested for in situ aqueous phase hydrodeoxygenation of methyl palmitate to hydrocarbons using methanol as a hydrogen donor. The formation of the catalyst precursors involves nucleation, growth and co-assembly of RF and SiO2. The introduction of SiO2 can facilitate the construction of the mesoporous and hollow structure and improve the specific surface area. It also reduces the micropore volume due to the reduced graphitization degree of the catalysts induced by SiO2. Thus, the internal diffusion resistance is decreased. Particularly, the Ni–Co alloy particles formed during carbonization are embedded in the mesoporous carbon layer, effectively hindering their sintering and leaching under the harsh hydrothermal conditions. Moreover, the metal sites can be exposed on both mesoporous channels and inner/outer surfaces of the carbon hollow spheres, making the reactants easily accessible. In the in situ hydrodeoxygenation of methyl palmitate, the as-prepared catalyst gives the pentadecane yield of 89.0% at 310 °C for 1 hour. It is noted that the facile diffusion in MCHSs suppresses the undesired C–C bond hydrogenolysis. The catalyst is not obviously deactivated during five reaction cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hydrogenation of acetic acid-derived cyclohexyl acetate (CHA) is becoming a safe, efficient and promising route for the production of cyclohexanol (CHOL), an important chemical to produce e-caprolactam. In this work, Cu-Zr catalysts were prepared via different methods for the hydrogenation of CHA. The results showed that a Cu3Zr7-SG catalyst prepared by the sol-gel (SG) method was superior to Cu3Zr7-CP and Cu3Zr7-IM catalysts prepared by the coprecipitation (CP) and impregnation (IM) method, respectively. The Cu3Zr7-SG catalyst showed 97.4% CHA conversion and 95.5% selectivity to CHOL along with 96.3% selectivity to ethanol at 250 1C under 3 MPa of H2. Moreover, the Cu3Zr7-SG catalyst showed a mass specific activity of up to 29.8 gCHA gCu-1 h-1, higher than other Cu-based catalysts under similar conditions. Based on detailed characterization studies, it was found that the larger weak acid sites, more weak and moderate basic sites, higher Cu+/(Cu0 + Cu+) and oxygen vacancies on the surface of the Cu3Zr7-SG catalyst were beneficial for the hydrogenation of CHA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quantitative structure-property relationship (QSPR) of constrained geometry catalysts (CGCs) has been analyzed by combining density functional theory (DFT) and multivariate linear regression (MLR). QSPR models for determining the reaction energy barriers of ethylene and 1-octene and molecular descriptors were established and validated with a testing set. At the initiation stage, the quaternary QSPR models for ethylene and 1-octene feature R² values of 0.90 and 0.82, respectively, while the corresponding leave-one-out Q² values for ethylene and 1-octene are determined to be 0.82 and 0.69. Using the generated QSPR models, the electronic effect was proven to be more critical for determining the energy barriers of ethylene and 1-octene insertion processes. At the propagation stage, the quaternary QSPR models for ethylene and 1-octene feature R² values of 0.97 and 0.96, respectively, while the corresponding leave-one-out Q² values for ethylene and 1-octene are determined to be 0.93. Particularly, the impact of the steric effect on the energy barriers of ethylene and 1-octene insertion is more pronounced. Furthermore, the correlation between the corresponding energy barriers and experimental activities with three series of CGCs was discussed, which revealed that theoretical calculations are consistent with the experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]