Themed collection Global Energy Challenges: Fossil Fuels

This review describes recent progress on mechanistic understanding of heterogeneous catalytic dehydrogenation reactions of light alkanes.

We demonstrate the first enzymatic hydrogenation of 2-hexenedioic acid and muconic acid to adipic acid using enoate reductases (ERs).

An ionic liquid/water electrolyte promotes excellent selectivity for CO₂ electroreduction to formic acid at a porous dendritic copper electrode material.

A zeolitic imidazolate framework two-layered membrane approach is simulated and experimentally validated to improve the pre-combustion gas separation.

Hydrazine can be grafted in CPO-27-Mg/MOF-74-Mg to provide an ultrahigh concentration of amine groups on the pore surface, giving an exceptionally high CO₂ capture performance, especially at extremely low pressures.

Fullerene molecules were connected to form fullerene-based PAFs. The porous structure could adsorb H₂ and exhibit some selectivity of CO₂.

We present a study of the mechanistic factors that transform cobalt phthalocyanine from a catalyst that shows modest performance for the electrocatalytic reduction of CO₂ to CO production into one of the most active and selective molecular catalyst reported in aqueous media when immobilized in a poly-4-vinylpyridine membrane

The development of selective electrocatalysts for CO₂ reduction in water offers a sustainable route to carbon based fuels and feedstocks.

A carbon catalyst prepared by air oxidation of woody biomass hydrolyses woody biomass, and the reaction residue is transformed back to the catalyst by the same air oxidation method.

Meso-macroporous hierarchical poly(ionic liquid)s are ionothermally synthesized through self-polymerization of the new divinylimidazole IL, exhibiting enhanced CO₂ capture and excellent activity in the cycloaddition of CO₂ to epoxides.

A series of MoO₃/H-ZSM-5 catalysts were prepared via calcination at a lower-than-usual temperature and evaluated.

Design principles for reducible metal nitride catalysts are developed and demonstrated for ambient-pressure solar-driven N₂ reduction into NH₃.

A highly efficient Pd-catalyzed direct coupling of phenolic lignin model monomers and analogues with anilines to give cyclohexylamines using sodium formate as hydrogen donor is described.

The amine functionalized material 1-dmen shows a record high working capacity for CO₂ capture at low regeneration temperatures compared with other MOFs. Furthermore, this performance is maintained upon exposure to humidity.

A targeted rare earth ftw-MOF platform offers the potential to assess the effect of pore functionality and size on gas adsorption via ligand functionalization and/or expansion.

The decomposition of formic acid to H₂ and CO₂ under metal-free conditions has been unveiled using dialkylborane derivatives as catalysts.

Highly active Pd@CeO₂ core@shell nanospheres with tunable Pd core sizes for catalytic CO oxidation.

Understanding the activity and selectivity of molecular catalysts for CO₂ reduction to fuels is an important scientific endeavour in addressing the growing global energy demand.