Search

The design of an "H"‐shaped reactor has been studied to satisfy the possibility of using a triphasic medium to transform d‐glucose into 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) by a hybrid catalytic process using an immobilized glucose isomerase, allowing the isomerization of D‐glucose to d‐fructose, and a heterogeneous chemical catalyst to catalyze the dehydration of d‐fructose to HMF. The various parameters influencing the transport of d‐fructose within the reactor were studied, namely the difference in pH between the two aqueous phases, the agitation and the quantity of 3,4‐DCPBA/Aliquat336® used to extract and transport continuously the d‐fructose. The pH discrepancy, which must be between 5.0 and 5.5, turns out to be the real driving force behind the extraction of D‐fructose. The D‐Fru/3,4‐DCPBA molar ratio of 1/0.25 allowed the transport of more than 80 % of the D‐fructose initially present and shows that the same molecule of 3,4‐DCPBA is involved at least twice in the transport of D‐fructose and that the 3,4‐DCPBA/Aliquat336® couple performs a turnover within the organic phase. Finally, a HMF production yield of 30.9 % and an isomerization yield of 79.1 % were obtained, illustrating the shift in the isomerization equilibrium made possible by a D‐fructose extraction yield of 96.8 %. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the performances of nickel‐based materials for the dry reforming of methane (DRM), an important process for hydrogen and syngas productions. Ni nanoparticles are issued from porous phyllosilicate phase exolution under reducing conditions (in situ or ex situ). Phyllosilicate precursors were obtained by deposition/precipitation with urea onto SBA‐15 porous silica, with metal loading up to 40 wt.%. Reaction was performed at 600–700 °C. The successful formation and stabilization of highly dispersed nanoparticles (2–6 nm) is revealed, even for highly loaded formulations (20 wt.% and 40 wt.%). In DRM‐700 (CH4/CO2=1, 20 % CH4, 480,000 mL gcat−1 h−1) the formulation at 20 wt.% metal loading (Ni_20 %) activated during reaction affords 50 % and 65 % of CH4 and CO2 conversions respectively at 700 °C. Ni_20 % is showing excellent resistance toward sintering after DRM stability test of 80 h. Characterizations made for spent catalyst show high resistance toward sintering and limited carbon formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxidative deamination is part of the metabolic pathways of amino acid oxidase and glutamate dehydrogenase enzymes, and enables obtaining α‐keto acid from amino compound with ammonia as a by‐product. This work presents the utilization of Pt‐based catalyst composed of small platinum nanoparticles supported on industrial silica support (Pt/SiO2). This nanozyme was tested in the oxidative deamination reaction of two amino compounds: 5‐hydroxymethylfurfurylamine (HMFA) to 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and glutamic acid (GA) to α‐ketoglutaric acid (KGA). This paper outlines the use of Pt nanozymes with deaminase‐like activity. We showed the ability of this nanozymes to be selective and active in liquid phase oxidative deamination of HMFA and glutamic acid in a 6 to 9 pH range at 60 °C under atmospheric pressure. Pt/SiO2 nanozyme actually plays as a deaminase mimic with high HMFA conversion (60%) and cumulative yield to the corresponding desaminated keto compounds (67%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hybrid catalysis, which combines chemo‐ and biocatalytic benefits, is an efficient way to address green chemistry principles. 5‐Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) is a versatile building block in numerous industrial applications. To date, few studies have described the production of its amine derivatives and their polymers. Finding a good methodology to directly transform HMF to 5‐aminomethyl‐2‐furancarboxylic acid (AMFC) therefore represents an important challenge. After selecting the best oxidation catalyst for HMF conversion to 5‐aldehyde‐2‐furancarboxylic acid and immobilizing a transaminase onto a solid carrier, we implemented the first one‐pot/two‐steps hybrid catalytic process to produce AMFC (77 % yield); this is the most efficient AMFC catalytic production method from HMF reported to date. This process also produced 2,5‐furandicarboxylic acid (21 % yield) as a major secondary product that can be applied to polymer syntheses such as polyethylene furanoate. Herein, we report a novel way to access new biosourced polymers based on HMF oxidized and aminated derivatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the performance of monometallic and bimetallic (Au, Pt, Ag, Pd) catalysts supported on a basic alumina in the partial oxidation of glycerol in the liquid phase are compared. A clear synergetic effect between metals is observed, especially when Au and Pt, Au and Pd, as well as Ag and Pt are associated. These three catalysts, characterized by relatively small mean particle size (i.e., 4.44 ± 2.18 nm for AuPt, 6.42 ± 3.31 nm for AuPd, and 6.91 ± 3.97 nm for AgPt), enable complete glycerol (GLY) conversion after 4 h of reaction at room temperature, under atmospheric pressure (200 mL of a 0.3 m GLY solution, 0.5 g of catalyst, NaOH/GLY = 4 mol mol-1, 1500 rpm, 650 mL O2 min-1). Moreover, it is possible to achieve more than 80% GLY conversion after 4 h of reaction at room temperature under atmospheric pressure with air bubbling (650 mL air min-1) as an oxidation atmosphere. This unpreceded high performance in the glycerol partial oxidation reaction under such mild conditions pave the way to the possibility of industrial exploitation of this promising catalytic system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The selective hydroconversion of 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to biofuels is currently highly sought‐for. While the literature has demonstrated that this reaction is possible on promoted Ni catalysts, we show here that a monometallic, non‐promoted Ni/SBA‐15 catalyst, prepared by incipient wetness impregnation, can convert HMF to 2,5‐dimethylfuran (DMF) and to 2,5‐dimethyltetrahydrofuran (DMTHF) at 180 °C, in a consecutive way. Through a control over reaction time, high yields to DMF (71 %, at conversion of 93 %) or DMTHF (97 %, at conversion of 100 %) can be achieved. Kinetic modelling suggests a preferential route to DMF via 5‐methylfurfural (MFFR) as intermediate, though the route via 2,5‐bis(hydroxylmethyl)furan (BHMF) is also present. The favored route in the experimental conditions involves the hydrogenolysis of the hydroxyl group of HMF as first step, followed by the hydrogenation of the aldehyde function, to methylfurfuryl alcohol (MFOL). It is suggested a higher reaction rate of hydrogenation or hydrogenolysis of the side group is linked to the presence of a methyl group in the molecule. No hydrogenation of the furan ring is detected on the intermediates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The catalytic decarboxylation of fatty acids to yield hydrocarbons, for use as biofuel as a main target, is a topical reaction in which the main challenge is actually to control the selectivity while using the smallest amount of hydrogen possible (or even better, not using hydrogen at all) in order to optimize cost‐efficiency of the process. Herein, the focus is on the non‐noble mono‐, bi‐ and tri‐metallic catalysts used to carry out this reaction. Historically, several non‐noble monometallic catalysts based on Cu, Co, Ni supported on different types of supports were first studied. Among such materials, the Co‐based catalysts were not selective, while, Cu‐based catalysts were more or less selective to hydrocarbons or to olefins, depending on the support used. Among these three metals, the Ni‐based catalysts are the most widely described ones due to their specific ability to promote deoxygenation reactions. Combining Ni to a second metal yielded a synergistic effect toward better catalytic performances, with increases in both conversion and selectivity and also improvement of the resistance of the catalyst to carbon deposit, especially when adding non‐noble metals. For future prospects, it appears that the main challenge will be to be able to maintain good catalytic performances under inert gas in solvent‐free conditions, in order to yield a fully environmentally friendly and cost‐effective process. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The glycerol partial oxidation reaction over Pt/Al2O3 catalysts was studied under basic (NaOH/GLY molar ratio 4) and base‐free conditions (NaOH/GLY molar ratio 0). Catalysts with small (2.95 nm) and large particle sizes (260.83 nm) were synthesized according to the use of different reducing agents, formaldehyde or sodium borohydride, and hydrazine, respectively. These different Pt particle sizes lead to a dramatic change in terms of activity, irrespective of the applied conditions. The biggest particles (i.e., 260 nm) seem to generate overoxidation products leading to a decrease in the carbon balance (to ~80%) while the smallest particles exhibit the highest initial glycerol transformation rate (i.e., ~10,000 mol h−1 molPt−1 under basic conditions at 60°C and ~2000 mol h−1 molPt−1 in the absence of a base at 100°C). In terms of selectivities, the main products are different as a function of the initial reaction conditions. For base‐free conditions, the two main products are glyceraldehyde and glyceric acid with a sum of selectivities always larger than 80%. Under basic conditions, the major product is glyceric acid while no trace of glyceraldehyde is detected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The dehydration of lactic acid to produce acrylic acid is a renewable alternative to the mostly used production of acrylic acid from propene. In this review, the recent developments and state of the art for the dehydration of lactic acid to acrylic acid are presented and critically commented. The most recent publications on the topic are discussed inetail with respect to the observed catalysts and process performance data. Among the different catalysts developed, three main groups can be distinguished: zeolites, sulphates, and phosphates. The latter, especially hydroxyapatites, have recently attracted the attention of academics in particular. The three families of catalysts are discussed and the recent developments and technical drawbacks in the gas phase dehydration are reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The deoxydehydration (DODH) of glycerol was studied using several Re‐based catalysts in the liquid phase under atmospheric pressure conditions. The best performance was observed over 10 wt.% ReOx/Al2O3 with 2‐hexanol as a reductive agent giving allyl alcohol with an exceptional yield of 91%. The reaction was confirmed to be catalysed heterogeneously, since the reaction stopped upon removal of the catalyst by hot filtration. The corresponding catalyst was further successfully reused three times without any leaching of rhenium species, as shown by elemental analysis. Based on the characterisation of the fresh and the spent catalyst by XPS and Raman spectroscopy, a reaction mechanism is proposed, which involves the redox‐couple Re(V) / Re(VII). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND Unlike Pt and Au, Ag has recently been reported to be an active catalyst for the synthesis of glycolic acid from the liquid phase oxidation of glycerol ( GLY). In order to provide comparative information about the kinetics of this reaction using Pt, Au or Ag, a kinetic model was derived for each catalyst (Ag/, Pt/ and Au/ Al2O3), using the experimental results obtained at different temperatures. RESULTS A power-law kinetic model was proposed for each catalyst, which included the Khang-Levenspiel model to evaluate potential catalyst deactivation. All three kinetic models predicted well the experimental concentrations. Pt/ and Au/ Al2O3 showed higher kinetic rate constants, the highest being that of the production of glyceric acid. The lower the metal particle size, the higher the kinetic rate constant of the production of glyceric acid was. Deactivation parameters played an important role in the model of Pt/ Al2O3, so that Au/ and Ag/ Al2O3 seemed to be more resistant to deactivation. CONCLUSIONS This work reports the first kinetic model for the oxidation of GLY using an Ag-based catalyst. It showed a noticeable kinetic rate constant for the production of glycolic acid. The activation energies obtained were in the range 48-97 kJ mol−1. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The catalytic acceptorless dehydrogenative oxidation of biosourced alcohols into carboxylic acid salts was achieved using earth-abundant Fe and Mn complexes that feature aliphatic PNP pincer ligands in good to excellent yields. The Fe derivatives were characterized by using 57Fe NMR spectroscopy. Mn pincer catalysts are catalytically more efficient than their Fe counterparts thanks to their robustness under basic conditions. Attempts to generate aldehydes from alcohols were not successful using the Fe and Mn species, but a commercially available Ru analogue achieves this transformation selectively under very mild conditions in the presence of a large excess of acetone as a hydrogen acceptor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through biomass valorization, sugars can become a major carbon resource for the production of fuels and chemicals by using catalysis. Hybrid catalysis, a direct combination of biocatalysis and chemocatalysis, may yield innovative solutions. 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) is a platform molecule derived from glucose, for which fructose is a key intermediate. To overcome the thermodynamic enzymatic equilibrium between glucose and fructose, two methodologies based on hybrid catalysis are described herein. In the first method, the glucose isomerase and fructose-to-5-HMF dehydration chemocatalysts are simultaneously implemented in a multiphasic way to imply the complexation and transport of fructose. The second method proposes a route through sorbitol, obtained by the hydrogenation of glucose. Sorbitol is then enzymatically converted into fructose, whereas regeneration of the cofactor is performed in situ with an organometallic complex as a chemocatalyst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Review describes the most significant results achieved in France in the field of heterogeneous catalysis over the last 10 years and placed in the context of international research. The focus lies on the research conducted in French academic laboratories, often in close collaboration with industrial partners. A wide range of heterogeneous catalysis is covered, including ab initio calculations, biomass conversion, catalytic cracking, catalyst characterization, CO2 conversion, Fischer-Tropsch, pollution abatement, power-to-gas and kinetics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Guerbet reaction of ethanol to heavier products was performed over a series of extensively characterized Sr-substituted hydroxyapatites (HAPs) with different (Ca+Sr)/P ratios, and thus different structural, textural, and acid-base properties. The acid-base properties were correlated with the reactivity of the solids and an optimal ratio between the amount of acid and basic sites was determined (ca. 4), whereas the ethanol conversion was mainly depending on the specific surface area of the solids. The stoichiometric 100 mol % Sr-substituted sample (SrAp-100) was especially efficient in higher alcohols production, which can be illustrated by a total alcohol selectivity (76.4 %) higher than that of all the other solids at a 13 % ethanol isoconversion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SBA-15 catalysts doped with variable aluminum amounts were prepared through a facile evaporation-induced self-assembly process. The textural properties and acidity of the catalysts could be tuned simply by varying the aluminum content. The genesis of acid sites with weak and medium strength during reaction was directly correlated to the catalytic activity for the dehydration of 1,3-butanediol into butadiene (BD). The best performance was achieved over an Al-SBA-15 sample with a silica/alumina ratio of 76, exhibiting a stable BD yield of 59 % at temperatures as low as 200 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Pd/CeO2 catalyst with a prominent reversible H2 storage capacity revealed a high activity and selectivity in the direct amination of benzyl alcohol with aniline and ammonia via the borrowing hydrogen mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of the crystalline phase of Mo3VO x in the catalytic oxidation of allyl alcohol over four kinds of crystalline (orthorhombic, trigonal, tetragonal, amorphous) Mo3VO x catalysts was investigated to determine the active sites for the reactions. Tetragonal Mo3VO x was found less active for the formation of acrylic acid from allyl alcohol, although acrolein was obtained selectively at higher temperature. For orthorhombic and trigonal Mo3VO x catalyst, allyl alcohol converted to acrolein and propanal competitively at the mouth of the heptagonal channel over the a- b plane of the rod-type crystalline particles, and these aldehydes were oxidized consecutively to acrylic acid. Acrylic acid was formed effectively at increased reaction temperature over orthorhombic, trigonal and amorphous Mo3VO x catalysts, and the maximum yields of acrylic acid were 73 % for the orthorhombic Mo3VO x catalyst and 72 % for the trigonal Mo3VO x catalyst at 350 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The catalytic conversion of alcohols into carboxylic acid salts in water was performed in the presence of ruthenium complexes supported by aliphatic PNP pincer ligands preformed or formed in situ. High activity toward a wide substrate scope was achieved with turnover number values of up to 4000. The air-stable catalytic system can be recycled by using toluene as a catalyst-immobilizing phase; the activity is maintained after five consecutive runs. Finally, mechanistic studies allowed some fundamental aspects related to water activation to be unveiled and to the mechanism postulated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ammoxidation of acrolein to acrylonitrile was studied using multicomponent (MC) BiMoO x catalysts in the presence of ammonia and oxygen. The MC catalysts containing bivalent and trivalent metal promoters were found to be highly active and selective to acrylonitrile. The corresponding MC catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, nitrogen physisorption, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, ICP-MS and UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. It was observed that, among the bivalent cations, the catalysts containing both Co-Ni showed superior performances due to the presence of the metastable β-CoNiMoO phase. The presence of a trivalent cation, and especially of iron, promoted the formation of both the γ-BiMoO active phase and the active β-phase of bivalent metal molybdate. Further, optimization of the reaction conditions enabled the achievement of a 59 % acrylonitrile yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, kinetic analysis and modelling of the glycerol oxidation reaction over unsupported Au particles were performed. The reaction pathways, which were determined in agreement with the experimental results, comprise two types of reactions, namely oxidation and C-C cleavage. A homogeneous catalytic reaction model was proposed by considering the occurrence of the non-catalytic reaction, the effect of the temperature, as well as NaOH and catalyst concentrations. The proposed kinetic model could adequately describe the data. The reaction under basic conditions but in the absence of a catalyst favoured the formation of C-C cleavage products (glycolic and formic acids), while in the presence of unsupported Au particles the oxidation to glyceric acid and the direct oxidation of glycerol to formic acid were promoted. Finally, it was observed that the formation of tartronic acid was not promoted by the catalyst and followed the non-catalytic route. Practical applications: The building of a kinetic model for glycerol oxidation in liquid phase using gold-based catalyst allows to better understand the mechanism leading to oxidation and C-C cleavage responsible to some change of selectivities in the process. The model parameters obtained in this study would be used to scale an industrial unit in a reactor modeling. The present work describes a homogeneous catalytic kinetic model of the glycerol (GLY) oxidation, by using unsupported Au nanoparticles. The proposed model includes the occurrence of the non-catalysed reaction in basic media and the effect of the reaction temperature, NaOH/GLY ratio and GLY/Au ratio. The model predicted well the experimental results. Unsupported Au nanoparticles were selective to glyceric acid and C-C cleavage products like formic and glycolic acids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The one-step selective oxidation of methanol to dimethoxymethane (DMM) was demonstrated over titania-supported molybdenum oxide catalysts, containing different amounts of molybdenum and prepared using two different impregnation techniques, namely wet impregnation and incipient wetness impregnation. The corresponding catalysts exhibited both acidic and redox properties, which are necessary for the oxidation of methanol to formaldehyde with subsequent condensation of the latter with excess methanol to finally yield DMM. The formation of well-dispersed polyoxomolybdate species on the catalyst surface was evidenced using IR-Raman, X-ray diffraction, and nitrogen physisorption. Varying the amount of these polyoxomolydate species was associated with a modulation of the acidic and redox properties, as shown by NH3-TPD and H2-TPR. With respect to the catalytic performances, the best balance between acid and redox properties was observed over the samples containing 8 wt.% Mo, which corresponds to a theoretical MoO x species coverage close to a monolayer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solids composed of TiO2 nano-crystallites (10-40 wt %) dispersed in an SBA-15 matrix were synthesised and used as hydrodesulfurisation (HDS) active-phase supports. Well-dispersed polymolybdate species were detected by Raman spectroscopy on all the CoMo-based oxidic precursors. Undesirable bulk CoMoO4 mixed oxide was also detected on the surface of low-TiO2-content materials, which suggests the enhancement of the Mo oxidic species dispersion as a result of the presence of TiO2. After activation under H2/H2S, the obtained catalysts were tested in the HDS of thiophene. An optimum conversion was observed for the catalyst supported on the solid that contained 20 wt % TiO2, which outperformed the homologous samples supported on TiO2 and SBA-15. This clearly highlights the beneficial effect of using such nano-TiO2-SBA-15 composite supports, in which SBA-15 confers adequate textural properties to the system, and the active phase benefits from the dispersive effect of TiO2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CeNi XH ZO Y nano-oxyhydride catalysts were developed for the highly efficient sustainable hydrogen production from ethanol and water in the oxidative steam reforming reaction. After an in situ treatment in hydrogen in the temperature range of 200-300 °C, the cerium-nickel binary mixed oxides became hydrogen reservoirs, which were called oxyhydrides, in the presence of hydrogen species of the hydride nature in the anionic vacancies of mixed oxides. A novel technology was developed for the room temperature hydrogen production by using the chemical energy released from the reaction between CeNi XH ZO Y nano-oxyhydride catalysts and oxygen, which completely converted ethanol specifically at 60 °C (oven temperature) and simultaneously produced hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide along with small amounts of methane and ethanal. CeNi XH ZO Y nano-oxyhydride catalysts demonstrated excellent catalytic stability, which was attributed to the graphitic filamentous carbon formed during the reaction. The unique activation phenomenon of the reaction (a huge variation in the temperature between the catalyst bed and the oven) was demonstrated in detail. Finally, the correlations among the catalyst properties, the catalytic performances, and the characterizations were thoroughly discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A quasi-homogeneous solution of gold nanoparticles prepared by the Turkevich method was used as an unconventional catalyst in the oxidation of glycerol (GLY) in the liquid phase. The highest obtained conversion was 100 % after 3 h of reaction at 100 °C under an oxygen atmosphere (5 bar). The main products were glyceric, glycolic, formic, tartronic, and oxalic acid with selectivities of 28, 36, 25, 9, and 2 %, respectively. Traces of hydroxypyruvic and acetic acid were also detected (combined selectivities below 1 %). To elucidate the reaction mechanism and specify the role of gold nanoparticles in the oxidation process, a series of experiments under various reaction conditions were carried out. The effect of reaction temperature, oxygen pressure, gold concentration, and GLY/base molar ratio was investigated. All catalytic results were systematically compared to the corresponding noncatalytic base-induced transformations (blank tests). Such an approach allowed us to separate and clarify the respective driving parameters for the transformation of GLY (presence of a base and activity of the gold catalyst). The reaction mechanism comprised a series of oxidation and CC cleavage reactions, whereas additional oxidation-reduction reactions (of the Cannizzaro type) could also occur in the presence of the base. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transesterification of diethyl oxalate (DEO) with phenol to form diphenyl oxalate (DPO) has been carried out in the liquid phase over very efficient MoO3/TiO2 solid-acid sol-gel catalysts. A selectivity of 100 % with a remarkable maximum yield of 88 % were obtained, which opens the route to downstream phosgene-free processes for the synthesis of polycarbonates. Interpretation of the results of various acidity measurements (NH3 and pyridine desorption, methanol oxidation as a probe reaction) allowed us to identify the catalytic sites as Lewis acid sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dehydration reaction of glycerol to acrolein is catalyzed by acid catalysts. These catalysts tend to suffer from the formation of carbonaceous species on their surface (coking), which leads to substantial degradation of their performances (deactivation). To regenerate the as-deactivated catalysts, various techniques have been proposed so far, such as the co-feeding of oxygen, continuous regeneration by using a moving catalytic bed, or alternating between reaction and regeneration. Herein, we study the regeneration of supported heteropolyacid catalysts. We show that the support has a strong impact on the thermal stability of the active phase. In particular, zirconia has been found to stabilize silicotungstic acid, thus enabling the nondestructive regeneration of the catalyst. Furthermore, the addition of steam to the regeneration feed has a positive impact by hindering the degradation reaction by equilibrium displacement. The catalysts are further used in a periodic reaction/regeneration process, whereby the possibility of maintaining long-term catalytic performances is evidenced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Keywords: 5-aminomethyl-2-furancarboxylic acid; 5-hydroxymethylfurfural; biocatalysis; enzyme catalysis; heterogeneous catalysis; hybrid catalysis; platinum; transaminase EN 5-aminomethyl-2-furancarboxylic acid 5-hydroxymethylfurfural biocatalysis enzyme catalysis heterogeneous catalysis hybrid catalysis platinum transaminase 5 5 1 01/18/21 20210112 NES 210112 B The Cover Feature b shows that hybrid catalysis is a very promising concept that combines chemical catalysts and biocatalysts in one-pot processes. In their Full Paper, A. Lancien et al. report a transaminase coupled to a platinum nanoparticle, both supported on silica, for the efficient conversion of I 5 i -hydroxymethylfurfural into I 5 i -aminomethyl- I 2 i -furancarboxylic acid. 5-aminomethyl-2-furancarboxylic acid, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, biocatalysis, enzyme catalysis, heterogeneous catalysis, hybrid catalysis, platinum, transaminase. [Extracted from the article]

The cover image, by José Antonio Díaz et al., is based on the Research Article Kinetic modelling of the glycerol oxidation in the liquid phase: comparison of Pt, Au and Ag AS active phases, DOI: . Photo Credit: CNRS Photothèque / Cyril FRESILLON. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Front Cover shows the potential of catalysis in France.In their Review, H. Olivier‐Bourbigou et al. summarize the most significant breakthroughs reported in France over the last ten years in the field of heterogeneous catalysis. The Review focuses on the development of catalytic systems for specific applications, such as petrochemistry, biomass transformation, environmental applications and CO2 for energy. The significant cross‐disciplinary approaches, essential to understand and optimize catalytic processes, are also described. More information can be found in the Review by H. Olivier‐Bourbigou et al. on page 2029 in Issue 12, 2017 (DOI: 10.1002/cctc.201700426). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Cover picture shows how ruthenium pincer complexes catalyze the oxidation of alcohols into carboxylic acids in water, which acts as the oxygen source while H2 is released as the only by‐product, as illustrated by the bubbles. More details can be found in the Full Paper by Zhang et al. on page 1413 in Issue 12, 2016 (DOI: 10.1002/cssc.201600243). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking alcohol from the nanobar The cover picture shows the use of nickel and cerium nano‐oxyhydride catalysts in hydrogen production from ethanol in the presence of water and oxygen. In their Full Paper on p. 2207 ff., L. Jalowiecki‐Duhamel et al. describe the characterization and catalytic properties of the nano‐compounds. Hydrogen production (45 mol %) and total conversion of ethanol remain almost constant over at least 75 h time‐on‐stream with only a small energy input (reaction in oven at 60 °C), thanks to the presence of hydride species stored in the solid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]