Performance-enhancing asymmetric catalysis (PEAC) is a new strategy for catalyst optimization. Rather than relying on the slow, resource- and time-intensive covalent modification of chiral ligands, this approach “tunes” a single ligand by using a library of simple, achiral acids. The counterions produced upon ion-pair formation perturbate the catalyst’s chiral pocket through noncovalent interactions to significantly improve enantioselectivity. This method creates an adaptable chiral ligand system that is well suited for rapid, high-throughput screening and catalyst discovery.

Proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE) is vital for green hydrogen, but its scalability is threatened by reliance on scarce iridium. This perspective outlines an integrated iridium management strategy, combining advanced catalyst and component design to drastically reduce iridium use with the establishment of closed-loop recycling systems to process end-of-life catalysts for reuse, thereby establishing a circular economy for iridium. This holistic approach is essential to enable terawatt-scale, sustainable hydrogen production.

Light-controlled catalysis enables real-time modulation of active sites and selectivity. By combining photonic and thermal effects, catalysts become programmable materials capable of adapting to fluctuating energy inputs and driving sustainable chemical transformations.

The first solid-phase #photocatalysis practice with halide perovskites was demonstrated with remarkable #catalytic efficiency and easy catalyst recycling. Ring-closing transformation reactions can be photocatalyzed by lead-free Cs2AgBiBr6 nanoplatelets in the solid phase, expanding the scope of feasible applications for halide perovskite nanomaterials in catalysis.

This review highlights how in situ Raman spectroscopy elucidates oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) mechanisms. Different enhanced Raman strategies, including shell-isolated nanoparticle-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SHINERS), the “borrowing” surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) strategy, and tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS), have been employed to reveal ORR pathways and intermediates on model and nanocatalysts, such as single crystals, nanocatalysts, and single-atom crystals. These studies provide molecular-level insights into ORR mechanisms and structure-activity relationships for rational catalyst design.

Super-dry reforming of CH4 (SDRM) consumes 1 mol of CH4 to reduce 3 mol of CO2 and produce 4 mol of CO, making it an ideal method for the direct utilization of CO2-rich CH4 streams. This work develops a catalyst-free plasma SDRM process driven by a rotating arc. In the plasma SDRM process, ultra-high temperatures and electric fields promote the forward reaction while sharp temperature gradients suppress the reverse reaction, demonstrating an efficient approach for valorizing CO2-rich CH4 streams.

Selenide-based catalysts containing platinum-group metals exhibit promising #electrocatalytic activities with significantly reduced PGM usage compared to commercial catalysts. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the fabrication and electrochemical applications of PGM-containing selenides, covering the following three categories: (1) single-component PGM selenides, (2) heterostructured selenide materials containing PGMs, and (3) single PGM atom-loaded selenides. Insights into their synthetic strategies and activity-structure correlations are offered.

This review highlights key strategies to develop efficient bismuth-based electrocatalysts and attempts to build effective electrochemical systems with them, giving a comprehensive presentation of this representative type of formic acid-production catalyst from the fundamental mechanistic advances to their industrial implementation potential, which offers insights into advancing CO2-to-HCOOH conversion toward carbon-neutral technologies.

CO2 reduction is typically carried out in aqueous electrolytes. Non-aqueous systems can suppress hydrogen evolution but increase cell voltages. This techno-economic assessment of non-aqueous CO2 reduction shows that oxalic acid, a two-electron product, could be commercially viable via this process. Oxalic acid would cost $2.87/kg at small scale and $1.56/kg at commercial scale, near current market prices. This levelized cost is dominated by product separation, stack replacement, and electricity costs. We also propose a technical roadmap toward cost-competitive non-aqueous CO2R.

CO2 electrolysis in fully aqueous conditions is currently strongly limited by mass transport of CO2. Fast pressure pulses enhance the mass transport of CO2 substantially, reaching partial current densities >80 mA/cm2. We find that this is due to both vibration of gas bubbles and flow oscillations.

This work provides a fundamental advance in controlling #catalytic selectivity through precise microenvironment engineering rather than relying on precious metals. By simply protonating a covalent organic framework, we achieved near-perfect selectivity for a previously elusive chemical transformation under mild, sustainable conditions. This strategy of tailoring the catalyst’s electronic environment to guide reaction pathways is a powerful and generalizable concept that can be applied to overcome long-standing challenges in synthetic chemistry and catalysis.

This work introduces a sequential decoupling-recoupling framework to model the degradation of Fe–N–C catalysts under operation conditions. By quantifying iron leaching kinetics and proposing dual-atom stabilization strategies, the work bridges atomic-scale mechanisms with macroscopic durability, providing design principles for durable and active electrocatalysts.

This study proposes a strategy for recovering palladium into covalent organic framework membranes for #catalytic water treatment. The resulting #catalytic membranes loaded with Pd nanoclusters demonstrate excellent sieving of organic pollutants and high #catalytic activity. The work presents a versatile platform for creating highly active and stable #catalytic membranes for advanced water treatment.

Electrochemical tandem catalysis relies on the precise regulation of intermediates to achieve efficient small-molecule conversion. This review highlights the pivotal roles of ∗CO, ∗NO2−, ∗H, and ∗NH2 in CO2 reduction, NO3− reduction, and C–N coupling. By correlating intermediate pathways with catalyst-design strategies, we provide mechanistic insights and guidance for developing advanced tandem systems toward sustainable energy and green-chemical production.

This work looked at the sustainable synthesis of mandelic acid—an important precursor in the synthesis of pharmaceuticals and plastics—via electrochemical coupling of benzaldehyde and CO2. After optimization of reaction parameters to maximize selectivity and efficiency, mechanistic analysis was performed using spectroscopic and electrochemical methods. The reaction was determined to proceed via a ketyl radical intermediate. Insights from this work not only inform future catalyst and reactor design efforts but can also be broadly applied toward related electrochemical syntheses.

The surface of Laves-phase CeFe2 intermetallics transform into α-FeOOH during alkaline OER, creating a pseudo-periodic coupling with concurrently formed CeO2. This partial transformation stabilizes active Fe sites, inhibits particle aggregation, alters the electronic structure, and enhances charge-transfer ability, leading to significantly improved OER performance.

Through an efficient and non-covalent micelle-cell integration approach, charged polymeric micelles encapsulating the photocatalyst 2-hydroxymethyl anthraquinone were loaded onto the surface of benzaldehyde lyase-expressing E. coli. The micelle-coated cells retained enzymatic activity and enabled an efficient one-pot photoenzymatic cascade with high recyclability, thereby providing a versatile platform for sustainable chemoenzymatic bioconversions.

Dauenhauer and co-workers evaluate both a generic reaction and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) to identify the relationships between model output and the associated model parameter uncertainty. Their results indicate the overall viability of programmable catalysis for accelerating #catalytic reactions.

This commentary discusses emerging electrolyzer designs—ranging from simple batch cells to flow-cell and solid-state systems—for H2O2 electrosynthesis via the two-electron oxygen reduction reaction. Particular emphasis is placed on innovations such as gas diffusion electrodes (GDEs), membrane-free configurations, bubble-shielding strategies, and solid electrolytes. This commentary offers a clear framework for rationalizing the design of next-generation H2O2 electrosynthesis systems.

Pt atomic single layers (ASLs) are valuable catalysts due to their interaction with support materials, such as Al2O3 and TiO2, which influences their efficiency and product outcomes. This study investigates how various attachment methods between Pt ASLs and supports impact NH3 oxidation. The research underscores a straightforward concept: adjusting the attachment of Pt ASLs to supports allows for customized catalyst performance. This approach is beneficial for designing more effective catalysts for reactions like NH3 oxidation.

Traditional fertilizer production is energy intensive. This work pioneers a sustainable, solar-powered method to synthesize nitrate fertilizer directly from air (N2 and O2) using water and light. By ingeniously designing a metal-free carbon-based catalyst with built-in “electron highways” and “hole superchannels,” we overcome a major hurdle—carrier imbalance—that plagues such reactions. This breakthrough enables simultaneous capture and conversion of atmospheric nitrogen and oxygen into nitrate with record efficiency, offering a promising green alternative to the energy-hungry Haber-Bosch process.

We report an enantio- and diastereoselective synthesis of bromo-spiroketals via #catalytic asymmetric halocyclization of racemic olefinic hemiketals. A cross-assembled bifunctional catalyst system, comprising a chiral phosphoric acid and an achiral quinoline base, enables satisfactory stereocontrol. The resulting bromo-spiroketals serve as versatile precursors for late-stage functionalization into spiroketal diphosphine ligands, useful in metal-catalyzed asymmetric transformations.

Plasma for the selective oxidation of methane allows for the generation of more oxygenate compounds than the traditional selective oxidation of methane. Coupling the high-space-velocity cyclic process with plasma technology can further increase the yield of liquid fuel and reduce the formation of the overoxidation product CO2. This advancement strengthens the economic viability of plasma for the selective oxidation of methane for industrial applications.