Current State-of-the-Art of Catalysts

A special issue of Catalysts (ISSN 2073-4344).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 October 2022) | Viewed by 13277

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Chemical Engineering Department, Catalysis Research Group, College of Engineering, PO Box 800 Riyadh 11421, Saudi Arabia
Interests: heterogeneous catalysis; chemical reaction engineering; nano materials; reduction of green-house gases; hydrogen and/or syngas production; catalyst for production of hydrogen; developing and improvising new techniques catalysis; industrial challenges of clean energy production

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Guest Editor
Strategic Research Department, Biozoon GmbH, 27572 Bremerhaven, Germany
Interests: microbial produced biobased materials; food grade packaging; 3D printing
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Guest Editor
Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK
Interests: hybrid nanocomposite; functional materials design and synthesis for clean energy and environment; surface and interface engineering; CO2 and biomass utilization; photocatalysis for solar fuels production and environmental remediation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Catalysts are indispensable tools in the biotechnological, chemical and petrochemical industries, in engineering and in environmental protection and remediation. Tailored-made catalysts are catalysts developed a few decades ago for specific processes that work selectively in the right place. Modern biotechnology would be inconceivable without catalysts. Certain products can only be synthesis/release through the use of catalysts, therefore industrial catalyst has many application.                   

The research and development of classic technical catalysts takes place mainly in industry; biocatalysis is a mainstream technology for chemical production, is greener, reducing pollution and cost, and creates greater sustainability. But specific risks that could arise from catalytic converters have to be further discussed.

This Special Issue is dedicated to compile a set of manuscripts related to the state-of-the-art in current main development trends in the field of catalysis, identification of opportunities and in-depth knowledge of their possible uses and risks with an increased use:

  • Enzymes as biocatalysts and enzyme-producing microorganisms
  • Microbial biocatalysis and their used in the commercial production
  • Metabolic pathways and design of biocatalytic processes implemented in food, pharma, agro-based, chemical and petrochemical industries
  • Compounds that catalyze and coordinate biochemical conversions in organisms
  • Microbiome and catalytic activities
  • Anti-catalysts
  • Catalyst immobilization and encapsulation methods and applications
  • Present and future catalysis industry
  • Catalyst for production of hydrogen as future green fuel
  • Decomposition of natural sources or by reforming processes
  • Photocatalysis for solar fuels production and environmental remediation
  • Catalysis meet industrial challenges of clean energy production
  • Functional nanomaterials for clean energy and environment

Dr. Monica Trif
Prof. Dr. Anis Hamzah Fakeeha
Dr. Alexandru Rusu
Dr. Santosh Kumar
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Catalysts is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • high performance catalysts
  • biocatalytic processes
  • microbial biocatalysts
  • catalytic conversion
  • immobilization and encapsulation
  • enzymes
  • functional nanomaterials
  • anti-catalysts
  • photocatalysts
  • industrial catalysis
  • hydrogen and/or syngas production
  • heterogeneous catalysis
  • reforming processes
  • clean environment

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 2632 KiB  
Article
Highly Selective Gas-Phase Catalytic Hydrogenation of Acetone to Isopropyl Alcohol
by Abdulrahman A. Al-Rabiah, Ismail Boz, Vagif M. Akhmedov, Mohamed Mokhtar M. Mostafa and Abdulaziz A. Bagabas
Catalysts 2022, 12(10), 1251; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/catal12101251 - 17 Oct 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 4353
Abstract
Current industrial synthesis procedures of isopropyl alcohol (IPA), by the direct or indirect hydration of propylene in the gas or liquid phase, suffer from the low conversion of propylene, the requirement for high pressure, and the harmfulness to the environment. In this context, [...] Read more.
Current industrial synthesis procedures of isopropyl alcohol (IPA), by the direct or indirect hydration of propylene in the gas or liquid phase, suffer from the low conversion of propylene, the requirement for high pressure, and the harmfulness to the environment. In this context, we report a single-step, gas-phase process for the green synthesis of IPA via acetone hydrogenation, in a fixed-bed reactor, under ambient pressure and within a temperature range of 100–350 °C. Composite catalysts with various ratios of ruthenium nanoparticles supported on activated charcoal and nano-zinc oxide (n-Ru/AC/n-ZnO) were used. Catalytic activity and selectivity were functions of n-Ru/AC/n-ZnO loading ratios, reaction temperature, and the hydrogen to acetone molar ratio. The composite catalysts were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), hydrogen temperature-programmed reduction (H2-TPR) analysis, and nitrogen physisorption. High yields of IPA were obtained over 3n-Ru/AC/2n-ZnO) catalyst, which showed the highest selectivity of 98.7% toward isopropyl alcohol and acetone conversion of 96.0% under a hydrogen to acetone mole ratio of 1.5 at 100 °C. Reaction rates, calculated from the model equation, were in reasonable agreement with those measured experimentally. The apparent activation energy (Ea) value for acetone hydrogenation was found to be 17.2 kJ/mol. This study proved that immobilized Ru catalysts were potential superior catalysts for the selective hydrogenation of acetone to IPA in exceptionally mild green synthesis conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current State-of-the-Art of Catalysts)
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11 pages, 4222 KiB  
Article
Direct Cross-Coupling of Alcohols with O-Nucleophiles Mediated by N-Iodosuccinimide as a Precatalyst under Mild Reaction Conditions
by Njomza Ajvazi and Stojan Stavber
Catalysts 2021, 11(7), 858; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/catal11070858 - 17 Jul 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2616
Abstract
We report N-iodosuccinimide as the most efficient and selective precatalyst among the N-halosuccinimides for dehydrative O-alkylation reactions between various alcohols under high-substrate concentration reaction conditions. The protocol is non-metal, one-pot, selective, and easily scalable, with excellent yields; enhancing the green [...] Read more.
We report N-iodosuccinimide as the most efficient and selective precatalyst among the N-halosuccinimides for dehydrative O-alkylation reactions between various alcohols under high-substrate concentration reaction conditions. The protocol is non-metal, one-pot, selective, and easily scalable, with excellent yields; enhancing the green chemical profiles of these transformations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current State-of-the-Art of Catalysts)
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14 pages, 3515 KiB  
Article
Dry Reforming of Methane Using Ni Catalyst Supported on ZrO2: The Effect of Different Sources of Zirconia
by Ahmed Aidid Ibrahim, Anis Hamza Fakeeha, Ahmed Elhag Abasaeed and Ahmed Sadeq Al-Fatesh
Catalysts 2021, 11(7), 827; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/catal11070827 - 08 Jul 2021
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2553
Abstract
Dry reforming of methane (DRM) has a substantial potential to provide a cost-effective process and in reducing greenhouse gases. Its application has been hindered by carbon deposition and instability problems. The use of an appropriate catalyst is influenced by the support type. The [...] Read more.
Dry reforming of methane (DRM) has a substantial potential to provide a cost-effective process and in reducing greenhouse gases. Its application has been hindered by carbon deposition and instability problems. The use of an appropriate catalyst is influenced by the support type. The objective of this investigation is to elucidate the effect of different sources of ZrO2 support. Four kinds of ZrO2, namely RC-100 and Z-3215, MKnano, and ELTN were acquired from Japan, Canada, and China, respectively. The catalyst samples were analyzed by BET, XRD, TPR, TPD, TEM, TGA, TPO, FT-IR, and Raman. The analysis of the structural properties displayed that all Ni-supported catalysts, regardless of their source, are mesoporous and that 5Ni-RC-100 possessed the highest BET surface area of 17.7 m2/g and 5Ni-MKnano had the lowest value of BET 3.16 m2/g. In the TPD and TEM analysis, the 5Ni-RC-100 catalyst presented the highest intensity of basicity and the minimum average particle size of 3.35 nm, respectively. The 5Ni-RC-100 catalyst outperformed 5Ni-ELTN by exhibiting 44% higher CH4 conversion; however, 5Ni-RC-100 gave the highest weight loss in the TGA analysis of 66%. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current State-of-the-Art of Catalysts)
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11 pages, 3622 KiB  
Article
Synthesis of Highly Porous Cu2O Catalysts for Efficient Ozone Decomposition
by Yishan Jiang, Juna Chen, Xin Zhao and Guojun Ma
Catalysts 2021, 11(5), 600; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal11050600 - 06 May 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1923
Abstract
At present, it is urgent to synthesize highly active ozone decomposition catalysts to cope with the ever-increasing ozone concentration in the atmosphere. In this study, a highly porous Cu2O catalyst was prepared by using combined surfactants of triblock copolymer P123 and [...] Read more.
At present, it is urgent to synthesize highly active ozone decomposition catalysts to cope with the ever-increasing ozone concentration in the atmosphere. In this study, a highly porous Cu2O catalyst was prepared by using combined surfactants of triblock copolymer P123 and n-butanol through a simple solution reduction method by ascorbic acid. Transmittance electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and N2 adsorption–desorption characterizations verify the highly porous structure with a relatively high surface area of 79.5 m2·g−1 and a small crystallite size of 2.7 nm. The highly porous Cu2O shows 90% ozone conversion activity in harsh conditions, such as a high space velocity of 980,000 cm3·g−1·h−1, or a high relative humidity of 90% etc., which is not only attributable to the high surface area but also to the high concentration of surface oxygen vacancy. The results show the promising prospect of the easily synthesized, highly porous Cu2O for effective ozone decomposition applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current State-of-the-Art of Catalysts)
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