Themed collection Catalysis for Production of Renewable Energy

Guest editors Jinlong Gong and Rafael Luque introduce the Catalysis for Production of Renewable Energy themed issue of Chemical Society Reviews.

This review covers old and recent catalytic achievements in the field of on-purpose synthesis of butadiene from a biomass-related feedstock, covering discussions on the various feedstock possibilities, thermodynamics, reaction conditions, reaction paths and catalyst development.

Low temperature catalytic conversion of triglycerides and fatty acids sourced from renewable feedstocks represents a key enabling technology for the sustainable production of biodiesel through energy efficient, intensified processes.

We summarize the development of catalysts and provide the current understanding of the chemistry for catalytic fast pyrolysis of lignocelluloses biomass.

We focus on recent advances in the delicate design of well-defined nanointerfaces to promote nanocatalysis towards renewable energy.

The development of controlled mesoporosity unlocks new opportunities in clean energy technologies by providing better accessibility, a higher surface area and better dispersion of the active phase.

The review summarizes recent synthesis and reactivity studies of model oxide catalysts prepared by the deposition of gas phase cyclic (WO₃)₃ and (MoO₃)₃ clusters.

We review ionic liquid-based processes in the renewable energy field, including CO₂ conversion, biomass conversion, solar energy and energy storage.

This extensive review covers wide range of aspects helpful for efficiently designing a natural gas reforming catalyst.

Active and robust cocatalysts constructed from earth-abundant elements greatly contribute to the highly efficient, stable and cost-effective photocatalytic water splitting.

Infrared absorption spectroscopy is perhaps the most versatile and informative spectroscopy available for the characterization of catalysts and catalytic reactions.

The status and challenges of oxygen electrocatalysts in aqueous Zn–air and nonaqueous Li–air batteries are comparably reviewed.

This review introduces the properties, challenges and new opportunities of various cathodic catalysts including electrocatalysts, photoelectrocatalysts and bioelectrocatalysts in BES.

Research on lignin deconstruction has recently become the center of interest for scientists and companies worldwide, racing towards harvesting fossil-fuel like aromatic compounds which are so durably put together by plants as products of millions of years of evolution.

This tutorial review describes the general properties of zeolites and their prevalent role as heterogeneous catalysts in oil refining.

Photoelectrochemical hydrogen production from renewable biomass derivatives and water is a promising approach to produce green chemical fuels.

The use of biomass, bio-waste and CO₂ derived raw materials, the latter synthesized using H₂ produced using renewable energy sources, opens new scenarios to develop a sustainable and low carbon chemical production.

This review describes the current status of rational design and fabrication of nanostructured materials for photoelectrochemical solar water splitting via atomic layer deposition techniques.

Late transition-metal oxide surfaces that expose coordinatively-unsaturated metal atoms promote the formation and bond activation of alkane σ-complexes.

Artificial photosynthesis involves transforming water and CO₂ into O₂ and carbohydrates: a challenging task for bioinspired renewable energy conversion schemes.

This tutorial review covers the fundamental aspects of and recent advances in photocatalytic and PEC water splitting under visible light.