The team first analysed a model liquid phase system for this reaction, composed of acetic acetic-potassium acetate solution with Pd/C, and found that Pd(0) is subjected to corrosion by molecular oxygen. This allows the solubilization of the metal as Pd(II) acetate, with the Pd(II) species then reacting with ethylene to yield VA and metallic Pd(0) as precipitate. They also notice that Pd/C promotes

Now, Chris-Kriton Skylaris and colleagues, in a collaboration between the University of Southampton and Johnson Matthey, study the impact of oxidation effects on Pt nanoparticles (NPs) to the ORR by computational means. To that end, they perform grand canonical minimization Monte Carlo simulations using the recently developed MACE-MP-0 machine learning interatomic potentials, which allows the treatment

Now, Yilin Wang, Bing Liu and co-workers developed a type of emulsion, where the droplets are covered by a densely packed colloidal SiO2 ring monolayer (pictured). Besides enhancing the stability, the SiO2 rings are hollow so that the liquid–liquid interface of the droplets remains largely accessible, enabling efficient diffusion and operation of the catalysts. First, fluorescent rhodamine B was used

The use of neutron reflectometry is crucial since the light elements lithium and hydrogen are practically invisible to more commonly used X-ray techniques. A number of detailed insights about the exchange of species between the SEI and electrolyte are revealed in a series of experiments. First, the identity of the Li salt has a profound impact of the SEI formation with a more well-defined layer observed

In previous studies, a solid porous electrolyte layer was employed in order to use a flow of pure water, avoiding costly separation of salts from the final product. However, when operating in a conventional continuous flow mode, stability and selectivity were both low when a concentrated H2O2 product was produced (low water flow rate). This is attributed to product crossover and decomposition as well

The team of researchers studied the formation of hydroperoxides first from the aerobic oxidation of dimeric and trimeric PS models using N-hydroxyphthalimide (NHPI) as a hydrogen atom transfer catalyst and azobis(isobutyronitrile) as radical initiator. After optimizing the conditions, they also observed that the trimer has a lower reactivity than the dimer, with a similar trend for higher oligomers;

Now, writing in Science, Daniel Herschlag and colleagues devised a smart plan to employ conformational ensembles to gain insights into the contributions from different catalytic effects to explain the total observed rate enhancements in serine proteases. The researchers took advantage of 1,231 structures of 17 serine proteases that are deposited in the Protein Data Bank (PDB) to construct ‘pseudo-ensembles’

Now, Joey Disch and colleagues study eCO2R under operando conditions using high-resolution neutron radiography, focusing on water transport and distribution within a zero-gap membrane electrode assembly with an AEM. The cell, with a silver cathode catalyst for CO production, is operated at both constant current and pulsed electrolysis under either 34% or 100% relative humidity (RH), in 0.1 M KHCO3

The application of large pressures on a solid induces lattice compression. In the case of metal oxides, this process favours the shortening of metal–oxygen bonds and simultaneously increases the diffusion activation energy of atoms and ions. The team therefore developed a thermal annealing process for WO3 that relies on the application of gigapascal-range pressure — 12,000 bar — in an electrically

Until recently, attempts to regenerate SmI2 to create a catalytic cycle have been hindered by the formation of stable oxygen adducts with the conjugate bases of employed proton sources such as water and alcohols. These researchers previously developed a system with the use of non-coordinating 2,6-dimethylpyridinium as proton donor that allows electrocatalytic cycling of the samarium reducing agent

The first stage exploits enzyme-driven hydroxylation of carboxylated piperidine derivatives. The team engineered α-ketoglutarate (α-KG)-dependent dioxygenases (SaEctD), which binds to molecular oxygen to form a reactive iron-oxo centre capable of hydroxylating C–H bonds. Moreover, interactions between the substrate’s carboxylate group and specific active site residues, such as Gln127 and Arg280, align

This Editorial provides a few highlights from the present issue of Nature Catalysis and reflects on some of the achievements from the editorial team in 2024.