Catalyst synthesis articles from across Nature Portfolio

Discovering hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalysts is challenging yet vital for energy and potentially synthesis. Here alkali metal–cobalt Salen systems with high HER activity is developed and is repurposed for C–H functionalization.

Three-component, iron-based catalytic transformations offer a promising and sustainable approach to building complex molecules in a single step. This Review highlights advances and ongoing challenges in the development of iron-catalysed difunctionalization of alkenes. Mechanistic insights that enhance our understanding and guide the development of new transformations are discussed.

The hydroheteroarylation of internal alkynes with indolizines via Pd and Rh catalysis is reported. This catalyst-controlled three-dimensional divergent protocol produces eight types of diaryl allyl skeleton (through combinations of E/Z and R/S stereochemistry and 1,1-/1,3-substitution patterns).

Converting plastic waste into single-atom catalysts (SACs) provides both a sustainable approach to waste management and a source of valuable catalytic materials. Here, the authors present a straightforward, scalable method to upcycle plastic waste into diverse porous SACs and showcase their outstanding performance across multiple catalytic reactions.

Iron carbide catalysts—especially the Fe₇C₃; phase—show great promise for efficient CO₂ hydrogenation to olefins. Here, the authors report the first stable, nearly pure Fe₇C₃ catalyst for CO₂-to-olefins conversion, overturning conventional models that posit the necessity of Fe₅C₂–Fe₃O₄ coexistence.

Lignin refining continues to face major challenges in achieving selective depolymerization and breaking resistant C–C bonds. In this work, the authors design a robust atomically dispersed Cu/Ni-SA@HNC catalyst that enables highly selective hydrogenolysis of lignin and model compounds through an unconventional pathway involving preferential Cα–Cβ bond cleavage in β-O-4 linkages.

The transformation of municipal sludge into high-entropy single-atom catalysts offers not just a new materials synthesis route, but a new framework for how we conceive of waste, resource recovery and circularity.

A recent study proposed ZeoBind, an AI-accelerated workflow enabling the discovery and experimental verification of hits within chemical spaces containing hundreds of millions of zeolites.

By grafting oxide nano-islands onto oxide supports, the sintering resistance of metal nanoparticles at high temperature is increased, enabling consistent stability for high-temperature dry methane reforming.

Annabelle Maletzko discusses how physisorption can be used to optimize the performance of catalysts for proton exchange membrane electrolysers.

Engineering magnetic nanoparticles at the single-particle level advances nanoreactor design, enabling enhanced active sensing, targeted therapy, and catalytic activity, with broad implications for nano energy and nanomedicine applications.

Supported noble metal catalysts are widely applied in hydrogenation catalysis but are limited by their high costs and susceptibility to sintering. Now, a nanoscale confinement strategy is developed to stabilize few-atom platinum clusters, preserving their nuclearity and catalytic activity under harsh reaction conditions.