{"title":"Elucidating the structure-activity relationship of Bi-doped MnO2 catalysts towards CH3OH oxidation","authors":"Suxin Yu, Haoyuan Gu, Qihang Wen, Yi-Fan Han, Minghui Zhu","doi":"10.1016/j.apcata.2025.120402","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apcata.2025.120402","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>MnO<sub>2</sub>-based catalysts have been extensively utilized in the catalytic oxidation of volatile organic compounds due to their cost-effectiveness. In this study, a series of Bi-doped MnO<sub>2</sub> catalysts with various contents were systematically investigated to reveal the structure-activity relationship during the CH<sub>3</sub>OH oxidation reaction, which was achieved using a series of characterizations. Bi could enter the MnO<sub>2</sub> lattice and lead to the facile formation of oxygen vacancies, facilitating the generation of surface reactive oxygen species by O<sub>2</sub> dissociation. With the increase of Bi, the activity showed a volcanic trend, and the Mn<sub>7.5</sub>Bi<sub>1</sub>O<sub>x</sub> (T<sub>90</sub> = 160 °C) exhibited the lowest apparent activation energy and optimal performance. CH<sub>3</sub>OH oxidation mechanism (CH<sub>3</sub>OH → methoxy species → formate species → CO<sub>2</sub> and H<sub>2</sub>O) was revealed by <em>in situ</em> DRIFTS, and the last two oxidation processes were significantly sped up. Bi-doped MnO<sub>2</sub> exhibited high H<sub>2</sub>O tolerance due to hydroxyl-assisted CH<sub>3</sub>OH chemisorption via hydrogen bonding and hydroxyl-assisted C-H activation of methoxy species with surface reactive oxygen species. These findings are beneficial for the rational design of metal-doped catalysts with rich oxygen vacancy defects for catalytic oxidation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":243,"journal":{"name":"Applied Catalysis A: General","volume":"704 ","pages":"Article 120402"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-06-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144254308","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Electrodeposited NiMoP coating on Cu nanorods array as efficient bifunctional electrocatalysts for urea-assisted hydrogen production","authors":"Mi Wang , Guangqin Chen , Yan Zhang , Jian Xiao","doi":"10.1016/j.apcata.2025.120399","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apcata.2025.120399","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The development of bifunctional electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and urea oxidation reaction (UOR) with high catalytic activity and excellent stability can promote the application of hydrogen production by urea electrolysis. In this work, a three-dimensional composite heterogeneous electrocatalyst composed of NiMoP coating on Cu nanorods array on Cu foam (CF@Cu/NiMoP) is designed and synthesized. The CuO nanorods array constructed on Cu foam was used as the substrate for electrodeposition of NiMoP layer, while CuO substrate was reduced to Cu nanorods. The optimal deposition time was 20 min in both HER and UOR processes. Because the hierarchical nanorods array structure offers abundant active sites, accelerates electron transfer kinetics, and enables efficient multi-channel transport of electrolytes and gaseous byproducts, the optimized CF@Cu/NiMoP-20 has excellent HER and UOR performances with requiring only −94.9 mV and 1.395 V, respectively, to drive 100 mA cm<sup>−2</sup>. In addition, the overall urea-electrolysis system with CF@Cu/NiMoP-20 as bifunctional electrode provides 100 mA cm<sup>−2</sup> at a remarkably low cell voltage of 1.596 V. This energy-efficient performance can be readily powered by a commercially available mercury-free alkaline battery.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":243,"journal":{"name":"Applied Catalysis A: General","volume":"704 ","pages":"Article 120399"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-06-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144242034","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Shurui Duan , Yuan Xu , Li Xu , Si Wu , Tan Guo , Yu Wang
{"title":"Hierarchical MnOx loaded β zeolite as efficient catalyst for bulky aromatic hydrocarbon catalytic degradation","authors":"Shurui Duan , Yuan Xu , Li Xu , Si Wu , Tan Guo , Yu Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.apcata.2025.120401","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apcata.2025.120401","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Conventional β zeolite exhibits limitations stemming from its constrained pore size and relatively low external surface area, impeding the efficient diffusion of bulky reactant molecules and limiting the accessibility and loading of active sites. Herein, we developed a hierarchical MnO<sub>x</sub> loaded β zeolite (MnO<sub>x</sub>/m-β) via a rational hydrothermal and subsequent redox-precipitation strategy. The hierarchical structure endows MnO<sub>x</sub>/m-β with a higher external surface area and optimized pore architecture, facilitating both the uniform dispersion of MnO<sub>x</sub> species and rapid diffusion of bulky molecules than conventional MnO<sub>x</sub>/β. Taking adsorption and catalytic oxidation of toluene, <em>o</em>-xylene, and 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene (TMB) as probe reactions, m-β exhibits significantly enhanced adsorption capacities for <em>o</em>-xylene (45.3 mg/g) and TMB (91.4 mg/g), representing 1.7 and 3.8 times increases compared to conventional β, respectively. Furthermore, MnO<sub>x</sub>/m-β achieves complete oxidation of toluene, <em>o</em>-xylene, and TMB at ca. 260 °C, 300 °C and 250 °C, respectively, significantly lower than those required for MnO<sub>x</sub>/β. This superior catalytic performance is attributed to the synergistic effects of enhanced Mn<sup>4 +</sup> -activated lattice oxygen mobility, hierarchical mass transfer channels, and abundant accessible active sites. The designed hierarchical architecture of β holds promise for the efficient removal of bulky aromatic hydrocarbon.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":243,"journal":{"name":"Applied Catalysis A: General","volume":"704 ","pages":"Article 120401"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144223318","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Hydrogenation of 4-(2-furyl)-3-buten-2-one using Cu-double layered hydroxides modified with Zr and Ce","authors":"Claudio Contreras-Díaz , Claudio Araya-Lopez , Cesar Pazo-Carballo , Marcos Flores , Vicente Diaz , Alejandro Karelovic , Ana Belén Dongil , Néstor Escalona","doi":"10.1016/j.apcata.2025.120394","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apcata.2025.120394","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The hydrogenation of 4-(2-furyl)-3-buten-2-one (FAc), derived from biomass through the aldol condensation of furfural and acetone, to obtain jet-fuel precursors and high-value products has been primarily performed using noble metals. In this study, the hydrogenation of FAc was studied using modified catalysts in which aluminum in CuMgAl double-layered hydroxides was partially or fully substituted with cerium (Ce) and zirconium (Zr) to induce oxygen vacancies. These vacancies were introduced to enhance catalytic performance by modifying the hydroxide structure. Characterization techniques, including N₂ adsorption–desorption, H₂-temperature-programmed reduction (TPR-H₂), N₂O-chemisorption, O₂-temperature-programmed desorption (TPD-O₂), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), were employed to characterize catalysts. The complete substitution of the Al layer with Ce or Zr significantly enhanced activity due to increased oxygen vacancy formation and improved electronic density at copper sites, resulting from variations in electronegativity. A similar product distribution at iso-conversions suggests consistent active sites across catalysts. Additionally, the Ce- and Zr-modified catalysts (CuMgCe and CuMgZr) increased selectivity toward 4-(2-furyl)-butan-2-ol, which subsequently led to the formation of 2-methyl-1,6-dioxaspiro[4,4]nonane through an intermolecular addition reaction was observed at 6 h reaction time.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":243,"journal":{"name":"Applied Catalysis A: General","volume":"704 ","pages":"Article 120394"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144291179","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Base-free CO2 hydrogenation to methyl formate over Re/TiO2 catalysts: Effects of the crystal phase of TiO2","authors":"Xiyan Geng, Yali Peng, Yu Yue, Zhikun Xia, Zheng Fang, Ruiyan Sun, Kai Guo","doi":"10.1016/j.apcata.2025.120398","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apcata.2025.120398","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The crystal phase of TiO<sub>2</sub> plays a crucial role in tuning the catalytic performance of Re/TiO<sub>2</sub> catalysts for base-free CO<sub>2</sub> hydrogenation to methyl formate (MF). In this study, we investigated Re species supported on TiO<sub>2</sub> with different crystal phases (P25, rutile, and anatase) to elucidate their structure–activity relationships. Among them, P25-supported Re catalyst (denoted as Re/TiO<sub>2</sub>-P) exhibited the highest catalytic performance, achieving a turnover frequency (TOF) of 4.8 h<sup>–1</sup> at 150 °C for 2 h, along with excellent stability over five consecutive cycles. By reducing the catalyst dosage, the TOF was further increased to 10.3 h<sup>–1</sup> at 160 °C. Comprehensive characterization revealed that the superior performance of Re/TiO<sub>2</sub>-P arises from its relatively weak metal-support interaction, which facilitates the reduction of Re<sup>7+</sup> to Re<sup>4+</sup>, the key active species for H<sub>2</sub> activation. These findings highlight the crucial influence of the TiO<sub>2</sub> crystal phase on the oxidation state and catalytic behavior of Re species, offering valuable insights for designing efficient catalysts for base-free CO<sub>2</sub> hydrogenation to MF.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":243,"journal":{"name":"Applied Catalysis A: General","volume":"704 ","pages":"Article 120398"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-06-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144223320","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Anirban Ghosh , Sudip Bhattacharjee , Sayantan Chongdar , Tapas Sen , Soumadip Banerjee , Abhijit K. Das , Asim Bhaumik
{"title":"Tandem cooperative catalysis over a Zr-MOF for the synthesis of hydroxyurethanes under solvent-free conditions","authors":"Anirban Ghosh , Sudip Bhattacharjee , Sayantan Chongdar , Tapas Sen , Soumadip Banerjee , Abhijit K. Das , Asim Bhaumik","doi":"10.1016/j.apcata.2025.120397","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apcata.2025.120397","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Carbon sequestration via CO<sub>2</sub> fixation into value added chemicals is of great importance for the sustainable future of the world. Hydroxyurethane derivatives are very demanding chemical intermediate for the polymer and adhesive industries, which can be synthesized by a tandem sustainable route involving the fixing CO<sub>2</sub> on epoxides to cyclic carbonates followed by ring opening through aminolysis. In this work, we have synthesized a crystalline tritopic Zr-based metal-organic framework (MOF) having secondary building unit (SBU) as [Zr<sub>6</sub>(µ<sub>3</sub>-O)<sub>4</sub>(µ<sub>3</sub>-OH)<sub>4</sub>(OH)<sub>6</sub>(TPA-COOH)<sub>2</sub>] (TPA = triphenylamine), which we coined as Zr-TPA-MOF. This MOF was prepared through a sustainable microwave assisted synthesis route within 45 min. at 120 °C. Zr-TPA-MOF exhibited plate like morphology and possesses a good specific surface area of 312 m<sup>2</sup>g<sup>−1</sup>. Zr-TPA-MOF material displayed good reversible CO<sub>2</sub> uptakes at different temperatures (1.4 mmol at 273 K and 1.0 mmol at 298 K). We have also analyzed the thermodynamics of CO<sub>2</sub> affinity on Zr-TPA-MOF thoroughly. So, this property has been explored further, where Zr-TPA-MOF is used as a heterogeneous catalyst for the CO<sub>2</sub> fixation reaction to form hydroxyurethanes over different epoxides via tandem aminolysis. Here, we have enlightened a broader context of CO<sub>2</sub> fixation using nontoxic, cost effective Zr-MOF as a promising catalyst in isocyanate-free synthesis of hydroxyurethane derivatives.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":243,"journal":{"name":"Applied Catalysis A: General","volume":"704 ","pages":"Article 120397"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144213322","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Qingting Zhang , Yongbin Wu , Abouelhassan A. Gomaa , Andreas Goldbach
{"title":"Propylene oxidation to acrolein over Au@MoOx/MoO3 nanobelts driven by oxidative strong metal-support interactions","authors":"Qingting Zhang , Yongbin Wu , Abouelhassan A. Gomaa , Andreas Goldbach","doi":"10.1016/j.apcata.2025.120395","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apcata.2025.120395","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Supported Au catalysts are widely investigated for selective oxidation processes. Here, propylene oxidation was studied over Au nanoparticles supported on MoO<sub>3</sub> nanobelts. Intriguingly, the Au particles were encapsulated by MoO<sub>x</sub> layers in oxidizing atmospheres yielding Au@MoO<sub>x</sub> aggregates which signal non-classical oxidative strong metal-support interaction (SMSI) between Au and MoO<sub>3</sub>. The core@shell particles enhanced the acrolein selectivity of MoO<sub>3</sub> from 18 % up to 81 % while its formation rate accelerated more than twentyfold to 1153 µmol g<sub>cat</sub><sup>−1</sup> h<sup>−1</sup> at 3 wt% Au loading and 350 °C. <em>In situ</em> CO DRIFTS measurements, H<sub>2</sub>-TPR and XPS analyses suggest that the Au@MoO<sub>x</sub> entities facilitate the transfer of MoO<sub>3</sub> lattice oxygen to propylene in line with the Mars-van Krevelen mechanism for acrolein formation. Apparent activation energies in the 113–163 kJ mol<sup>−1</sup> range point to re-oxidation of the ensuing oxygen-deficient MoO<sub>x</sub> moieties as rate-limiting acrolein formation step. Consequently, the oxidative SMSI strongly promotes propylene conversion to acrolein over MoO<sub>3</sub>-supported Au catalysts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":243,"journal":{"name":"Applied Catalysis A: General","volume":"704 ","pages":"Article 120395"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144223319","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Direct conversion of ethene to isobutene using a combination of Ni-loaded amorphous silica-alumina and ferrierite zeolite catalysts","authors":"Katsuya Shimura , Shigehiro Yoshida , Hiroshi Oikawa , Tadahiro Fujitani","doi":"10.1016/j.apcata.2025.120396","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apcata.2025.120396","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Direct conversion of ethene to isobutene was studied by combining heterogeneous catalysts for ethene dimerization and skeletal isomerization of normal butene. NiO/SiO<sub>2</sub>-Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> and zeolite were simultaneously loaded to a flow reactor in separate layers, and the conversion of ethene was performed at 300 ℃. Reaction using NiO/SiO<sub>2</sub>-Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> alone produced normal butene predominantly, and isobutene selectivity was low at 1 %. However, introduction of zeolite into the lower catalyst phase greatly enhanced isobutene selectivity. The crystal structure and SiO<sub>2</sub>/Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> ratio of zeolite had marked influences on isobutene selectivity, and ferrierite with a moderate amount of acid sites was most effective. The activity of ferrierite was further increased by ion-exchange with metal ions such as Fe, which enhanced not only isobutene selectivity but also catalyst durability. Effects of the reaction conditions were also studied, with the optimal setup affording isobutene at a selectivity of 31 %, which is the highest selectivity reported to date.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":243,"journal":{"name":"Applied Catalysis A: General","volume":"704 ","pages":"Article 120396"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144204352","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Catalytic hydrofunctionalizations of alkenes via hydrogen atom transfer with 3d transition metal complexes (MHAT): A pragmatic approach to recent contributions","authors":"Antonio Torres-Calis , Juventino J. García","doi":"10.1016/j.apcata.2025.120379","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apcata.2025.120379","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The growing interest in sustainable organic synthesis has led to exploring catalytic systems based on first-row transition metals, revealing their exceptional capacity to promote hydrogen atom transfer (MHAT) processes for alkene activation. Due to the high chemoselectivity and chemofidelity of the MHAT reaction, diverse catalytic hydrofunctionalizations have been successfully achieved, directly contributing to the formation of a wide variety of valuable carbon-based bonds (C−C, C−N, C−O, and C−S, among others), even in complex environments and at sterically demanding positions. Herein, we provide a practical overview of the field by examining the main reactivity trends and strategies used to achieve efficient MHAT-driven hydrofunctionalizations while also demonstrating the current versatility and synthetic utility of these methodologies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":243,"journal":{"name":"Applied Catalysis A: General","volume":"704 ","pages":"Article 120379"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144177920","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Optimizing photocatalytic water oxidation by FeMnOx bimetallic cocatalyst on Zn-doped BiVO4 via magnetron sputter deposition","authors":"Niqab Khan , Ariadne Koche , Wahidullah Khan , Pallas A.M. Nogueira , Asif Jamil , Yvonne Pieper , Francesca M. Toma , Otaciro R. Nascimento , Renato V. Gonçalves , Sherdil Khan","doi":"10.1016/j.apcata.2025.120389","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apcata.2025.120389","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Bismuth vanadate (BiVO<sub>4</sub>) has been used as an efficient photocatalyst for water oxidation. However, pristine BiVO<sub>4</sub> suffers from recombination due to its short hole diffusion length and fast electron-hole recombination, which hinders photocatalytic water oxidation. To enhance the water photo-oxidation, here we constructed Zn-doped BiVO<sub>4</sub> and then deposited bimetallic FeMnO<sub>x</sub> on its surface via Magnetron Sputtering. Zn doping improved the optical absorption by red-shifting the bandgap of BiVO<sub>4</sub>. Crystalloghafically, it increased growth towards (040) direction and enhanced V-O bond lengths. Moreover, the Zn doping induces oxygen vacancies that suppress charge recombination, as confirmed by EPR analysis. Zn-doped BiVO<sub>4</sub> showed an incredible enhancement in the photocatalytic O<sub>2</sub> evolution of 135 μmol as compared to the pure BiVO<sub>4</sub> (90 μmol). The O<sub>2</sub> evolution was further enhanced to 154 µmol after loading bimetallic FeMnO<sub>x</sub> cocatalysts on Zn-doped BiVO<sub>4</sub>, which is attributed to the improved charge transportation via cocatalysts from the BiVO<sub>4</sub> surface.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":243,"journal":{"name":"Applied Catalysis A: General","volume":"704 ","pages":"Article 120389"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144189894","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}