Frontiers in Catalysis | New and Recent Articles

Renewable electricity-driven water electrolysis offers a promising route to low-emission hydrogen, yet exceptional laboratory catalyst performance does not necessarily translate into efficient, durable, and scalable electrolyzer operation. This review examines nanostructured electrocatalysts across interconnected length scales, linking atomic-level electronic structure and adsorption energetics w…

IntroductionDevelopment of a mild and sustainable protocol for the carbon-carbon bond formation via Knoevenagel condensation is essentially desirable because the products, aryledene derivatives, are useful intermediates and are widely used in the manufacture of fine chemicals, pharmaceutically active molecules, calcium channel blockers, natural products, as well as in the production of flavours a…

This study presents the synthesis and characterization of AgxFe2-xO3 nanoparticles as highly efficient photocatalysts and excellent antimicrobial agents. AgxFe2-xO3 nanoparticle synthesis was carried out through the sol–gel auto-combustion method. It was extensively characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), which confirmed the formation of crystalline α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles with a crystallite s…

The efficient and simultaneously selective conversion of methane to methanol has been one of the most research-intensive topics in catalysis over the past decades. The weaker C-H bond of methanol promotes the production of over-oxidized species. The present computational study examines the catalytic performance of organometallic complexes with electron rich Earth abundant metals (cobalt, nickel, …

In recent years, the electrochemical synthesis of peroxides has attracted renewed interest as a potential environmentally friendly production compared to the established anthraquinone process. In addition, it is possible to produce the peroxides directly on site, eliminating the need for expensive and hazardous transportation and storage. Cathodic production of hydrogen peroxide from oxygen is al…

This dry fungus-reinforced nanoparticle synthesis is the first proficient plan of action to replace the use of hazardous chemical, physical, and other bio-methods. Here, we report the synthesis of gold bio-nanocomposites (GBNCs) via immobilization of dry biomass prepared with conventional and lyophilization methods. Under atmospheric conditions, dried Aspergillus trinidadensis VM ST01′ OL587588 f…

This Perspective reflects on practices that lead to the development of high turnover cross-coupling catalytic cycles involving palladium. These processes are attractive for the manufacture of agrochemical, human or veterinary active ingredients, and in some respects are more sustainable than alternatives that use base metals at much higher loadings. The practices are structured in terms of import…

Diffusion of hydrolytic enzymes into biomass particles is a potential limiting step, which has yet to be studied in detail separate from intrinsic hydrolysis kinetics. We developed and applied a pore-enzyme diffusion model for both adsorbing and non-adsorbing enzymes and coupled them to reactor-level mass balance equations. With this multi-scale model, the effects of biomass particle porosity, si…

In the past 20 years, unspecific peroxygenases (UPOs) have emerged as promising biocatalysts for various organic transformations. Particularly, we have witnessed great attention being paid to the screening of new enzymes and expansion of the substrates/products. However, challenges such as enzyme stability, low turnover numbers, and substrate specificity hinder their widespread utilization in pra…

Methanogenesis is an anaerobic, energy-conserving metabolism that converts CO2, acetate, and methylated compounds to methane, constituting a key terminal step in the mineralization of organic matter in many oxygen-limited ecosystems. In the modern biosphere, biological methane formation is overwhelmingly dominated by methanogenic archaea. Despite its phylogenetic constraint, this metabolism exert…

Electrochemical CO2 reduction represents a promising approach for mitigating carbon emissions while generating value-added fuels and chemicals. While catalyst design mainly dictates activity and product selectivity, system-level performance is strongly influenced by the interplay between electrolyzer configuration and operating parameters. In this study, a zero-gap membrane electrode assembly ele…

DNA topoisomerase-IA is an essential enzyme that relaxes supercoiled DNA by introducing transient single-strand breaks through a covalent phosphorylated tyrosine (PTR) intermediate. This cleavage occurs when the active-site tyrosine of dTopo-IA forms a covalent bond with the DNA phosphate backbone, resulting in PTR formation. Although dTopo-IA is believed to mediate strand passage via an enzyme-i…

We investigate CO methanation over nickel-decorated strontium hydroxyapatite (NiSH) nanorods based catalysts by varying Ni loadings, prepared by the impregnation method. The catalytic experiments were conducted at light-off temperatures ranging from 225°C to 400 °C, under ambient pressure. The key properties of prepared catalysts were characterized by XRD, N2 physisorption, TEM, SEM, TPR and H2-T…

IntroductionGreen synthesis of nanomaterials using plant extracts has gained significant interest. This method replaces toxic reducing and capping agents with natural sources such as plant extracts, microorganisms, algae, fungi, or biomolecules. In this study, copper-based nanomaterials were synthesized using aqueous extracts from various parts of Moringa oleifera, including leaves, seeds, and st…

The escalating demand for sustainable energy sources and chemical feedstocks has intensified research efforts toward the catalytic conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into value-added products. This comprehensive review critically examines recent advances in metal-based catalytic systems for biomass valorization, encompassing noble metals, transition metals, and their alloys. We systematically …

We describe a sequence-guided approach to identify and engineer key amino acids in orthologous CYP4B1 enzymes for selective ω-hydroxylation of saturated fatty acids and sequential hydroxylation of trans-stilbene to trans-4,4′- and trans-4,3′-dihydroxystilbene. Orthologous enzymes generally share high sequence identities and catalyze the same reactions, but often exhibit subtle yet distinct activi…

IntroductionWater pollution, stemming from various sources such as pharmaceuticals waste, pesticides, herbicides, textile dyes, resins, and phenolic compounds, is a significant concern in today’s world. Even small amounts of water pollutants can have detrimental effects on human health and ecosystems. Therefore, proper treatment of industrials wastewater through sewage treatment plants is essenti…

Esters are highly relevant industrial compounds. They can be produced via biocatalysis in accordance with the Green Chemistry Principles using immobilized lipases, a highly specific catalyst for esterification that operates under mild reaction conditions. However, the adoption of biocatalysis for ester production is mainly hindered by the high cost of immobilized lipases relative to the selling p…