Nanostructured Catalysts for Enhanced Catalytic Performance

Nanostructured catalysts encompass a diverse range of architectures—core–shell, yolk–shell, hollow, porous and composite materials—designed to maximise active surface area, tailor electronic properties and control mass transport. By engineering interfaces at the nanoscale, researchers achieve stronger metal–support interactions, modified electronic structures and precise confinement of reactants. Such design strategies enhance turnover frequency, selectivity and long-term stability in key processes including hydrogenation, oxidation and photocatalysis. Characterisation by electron microscopy, X-ray spectroscopy and theoretical modelling underpins rational catalyst design. These advances address global challenges in sustainable energy conversion, fine-chemical synthesis and environmental remediation by lowering activation barriers, suppressing deactivation mechanisms and enabling catalytic processes under milder, more resource-efficient conditions.

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Nanostructured Catalysts for Enhanced Catalytic Performance publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in nanostructured catalysts for enhanced catalytic performance across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Core–shell nanoparticle: A nanostructure comprising a central “core” of one material enveloped by an outer “shell” of another, designed to combine or modulate functional properties.

Yolk-shell nanoreactor: A hollow nanostructure with an inner “yolk” core and an outer shell, providing confined reaction spaces and enhanced stability.

Metal–support interaction: Electronic and structural effects arising at the interface between metal nanoparticles and their supporting material, influencing catalytic activity and stability.

Void-confinement effect: Enhancement of catalytic performance due to reactant concentration, molecular sieving or shape selectivity within nanoscale cavities.

Turnover frequency (TOF): A metric expressing the number of substrate molecules converted per active site per unit time, used to assess catalyst intrinsic activity.

References

1. Toward High‐Performance Hydrogenation at Room Temperature Through Tailoring Nickel Catalysts Stable in Aqueous Solution. Advanced Science (2024).
2. Opportunities in the design of metal@oxide core-shell nanoparticles. Advances in Physics X (2023).
3. Multilevel Hollow Phenolic Resin Nanoreactors with Precise Metal Nanoparticles Spatial Location toward Promising Heterogeneous Hydrogenations. Advanced Materials (2022).