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Effect of the Modification of Catalysts on the Catalytic Performance,...
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Effect of the Modification of Catalysts on the Catalytic Performance, 3rd Edition

A Special Issue of Catalysts (ISSN 2073-4344) belonging to the section "Catalytic Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 October 2026 | Viewed by 5274

Editors

Dr. Florica Papa

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Guest Editor
Romanian Academy, “Ilie Murgulescu” Physical Chemistry Institute, Bucharest, Romania
Interests: fractal theory; catalytic and photocatalytic reaction; mono and bimetallic nanoparticles synthesis by alkaline polyol method; oxidation of C1–C4 aliphatic hydrocarbons on simple and doped oxides; oxidative coupling of methane on rare earth oxides; selective catalytic reduction of nitrates and nitrites in the liquid phase; catalytic oxidation of ammonia nitrogen with ozone in water; modified catalysts and their fractal properties
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Anca Vasile

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Romanian Academy, “Ilie Murgulescu” Physical Chemistry Institute, Bucharest, Romania
Interests: catalysis; kinetics of gas-solid interaction; catalytic synthesis; lower olefin (C3–C4) oxidation on multicomponent oxide catalysts; semiconductor properties of oxide catalysts; AC in situ electrical conductivity measurements on catalytic systems; dynamics of the lattice oxygen in oxide catalysts for selective oxidation catalysis; synthesis of well-defined mono/bimetallic nanoparticles supported; photocatalytic degradation of organic compounds in water
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Gianina Dobrescu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Romanian Academy, “Ilie Murgulescu” Physical Chemistry Institute, Bucharest, Romania
Interests: surface science; fractal theory; adsorption mechanism; modelling gases adsorption and desorption from metal-supported catalysts; applying fractal theory to characterize surfaces; modelling adsorption on fractal surfaces; computing fractal dimension from micrographs (TEM, SEM, AFM, STM); growth surfaces and computing the time and spatial scaling exponents using the variable scaling method
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Improving catalytic performance by modifying catalysts is crucial for optimizing chemical processes, enhancing efficiency, and achieving sustainable, cost-effective outcomes in various industrial applications. Modifying catalysts involves altering their structure, composition, and surface properties to achieve superior activity, selectivity, and stability. The structural and compositional complexity of the catalytic system requires a strong systematic approach to elucidate the nature of the catalyst’s active sites.

We provide an overview of how modifications contribute to improving catalytic performance: enhancing activity (increasing surface area, nanomaterials and nano-scale control, activation of inert sites), improving selectivity (modification of the active site, control of surface properties, electronic tuning), increasing stability and durability (metal support interactions, surface coatings, promoters and stabilizers), enhancing resistance to deactivation, improving reaction kinetics (nano-structuring, co-catalyst addition), facilitating reactant activation (electronic modification, geometrical control), cost-effective catalysis (substitution of precious metals, promoting catalysts with less expensive materials), sustainability and environmental impact (lower energy requirements, waste minimization, reusability).

Important research directions are understanding catalytic mechanisms at the molecular level, catalyst deactivation and stability, catalyst recovery and recycling, developing sustainable and earth-abundant catalysts, balancing activity, selectivity, and stability, catalysis under mild conditions, characterization and in situ analysis, catalyst design via artificial intelligence and modeling, scale-up from lab to industry, environmental and regulatory constraints and catalyst cost and availability.

The synthesis of catalysts is a critical step that determines their structure, activity, selectivity, and stability. However, synthesizing catalysts—especially with controlled nanostructures or compositions—presents numerous technical and practical challenges. The major challenges involved in catalyst synthesis are controlling particle size, shape, and distribution, uniform dispersion on supports, phase and crystallinity control, scalability and reproducibility, precise doping and alloying, porosity and surface area engineering, reproducibility of preparation methods, time and cost efficiency, atomic-level control and green and sustainable synthesis.

Photocatalysts utilize light to accelerate chemical reactions, and their synthesis presents unique challenges compared to conventional catalysts. The photocatalysts are used in applications such as solar energy conversion, environmental cleanup (e.g., water splitting, water decontamination, CO2 reduction).

To be effective, the photocatalyst needs to absorb light efficiently, exhibit high stability, and promote specific reactions without degrading over time. The key challenges in the synthesis of photocatalysts include efficient light absorption and utilization, light absorption and band gap control, charge carrier separation and transport, stability and photodegradation, nanostructure and morphology control, surface interaction and active site formation, doping and co-catalyst incorporation, among others.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to present state-of-the-art strategies for modifying catalysts, aiming to provide an important contribution to the development of research in this area from both practical and theoretical perspectives.

Dr. Florica Papa
Dr. Anca Vasile
Dr. Gianina Dobrescu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Catalysts is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • catalytic performance
  • catalyst
  • synergetic effect
  • modification of catalysts
  • selectivity
  • catalyst synthesis
  • reaction mechanism
  • catalytic activity
  • photocatalysis

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Related Special Issues

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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20 pages, 11716 KB  
Article
Catalytic Performance of Polymer-Modified Pd/γ-Al2O3 Catalysts for Hydrogenation
by Eldar Talgatov, Assemgul Auyezkhanova, Akzhol Naizabayev, Sandugash Akhmetova, Arlan Abilmagzhanov, Aigul Zamanbekova and Aigul Jumekeyeva
Catalysts 2026, 16(9), 789; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal16090789 - 31 Aug 2026
Viewed by 278
Abstract
In this work, 1%Pd/γ-Al2O3 catalysts modified with poly(4-vinylpyridine) (P4VP), polyacrylamide (PAM), and polyacrylic acid (PAA) were synthesized and evaluated for allyl alcohol hydrogenation. The effect of P4VP content was systematically investigated by varying the polymer loading, followed by comparison of [...] Read more.
In this work, 1%Pd/γ-Al2O3 catalysts modified with poly(4-vinylpyridine) (P4VP), polyacrylamide (PAM), and polyacrylic acid (PAA) were synthesized and evaluated for allyl alcohol hydrogenation. The effect of P4VP content was systematically investigated by varying the polymer loading, followed by comparison of the catalytic properties of the modified catalysts with that of the unmodified 1%Pd/γ-Al2O3 catalyst. The synthesized catalysts were characterized by TGA, IR spectroscopy, XRD, TEM, XPS, SEM/EDS, and viscosimetry to evaluate their structural, morphological, surface, and elemental properties. TEM analysis revealed that low P4VP loading preserved small Pd nanoparticles (3.9 nm), whereas higher polymer loadings promoted particle growth to 7.7 nm. All catalysts achieved complete conversion of allyl alcohol. At 5 wt.% polymer loading, the P4VP-modified catalyst exhibited a slightly higher hydrogenation rate than the PAA- and PAM-modified catalysts. Decreasing the P4VP content from 5 to 3 and 1 wt.% increased the hydrogenation rate from 8.3 × 10−6 to 13.9 × 10−6 and 22.9 × 10−6 mol/s, respectively, while propanol selectivity increased from 64 to 65 and 71%. The 1%Pd–P4VP(1%)/γ-Al2O3 catalyst exhibited higher catalytic activity than the unmodified 1%Pd/γ-Al2O3 catalyst and maintained good stability over 20 consecutive substrate additions. These findings demonstrate that the catalytic behavior of polymer-modified 1%Pd/γ-Al2O3 catalysts depends on the balance between polymer loading, Pd nanoparticle size, and active site accessibility. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effect of the Modification of Catalysts on the Catalytic Performance, 3rd Edition)
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22 pages, 32335 KB  
Article
Tuning the Selectivity: Evaluating Pt-Co and Pt-Ni Anchored on TiO2 for the Generation of Benign End Products in Photocatalytic Nitrate Reduction
by Anca Vasile, Crina Anastasescu, Veronica Bratan, Irina Atkinson, Catalin Negrila, Cristian Matei, Monica Pavel, Florica Papa and Ioan Balint
Catalysts 2026, 16(8), 684; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal16080684 - 28 Jul 2026
Viewed by 469
Abstract
This study addresses the urgent issue of nitrate-contaminated water by investigating Ni-Pt and Co-Pt catalysts supported on TiO2, with the aim of improving both photocatalytic efficiency and reaction selectivity. The influence of adding non-noble metal co-catalysts to TiO2, in [...] Read more.
This study addresses the urgent issue of nitrate-contaminated water by investigating Ni-Pt and Co-Pt catalysts supported on TiO2, with the aim of improving both photocatalytic efficiency and reaction selectivity. The influence of adding non-noble metal co-catalysts to TiO2, in addition to Pt, was explored. The synthesized samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), hydrogen temperature-programmed reduction (H2-TPR), diffuse reflectance UV–Vis spectroscopy, photoluminescence (PL), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The assessment of catalytic performance was conducted during the catalytic hydrogenation of nitrate, followed by an evaluation of the photocatalytic performance achieved when the aqueous nitrate solution was irradiated with UV light. The focus is on assessing the synergistic effects of the catalysts supported on TiO2 in nitrate reduction, as well as their selectivity towards benign reaction products during the photocatalytic process, in contrast to the reactions occurring in the absence of light. Despite the selectivity for nitrite being preserved, the photocatalytic experiments indicated that the selectivity for N2 reached around 68%, which is about 1.5 times higher than the values observed during the dark catalytic reaction. In contrast, the selectivity for ammonium saw a notable reduction. The findings were discussed in relation to the characteristics of the synthesized materials. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effect of the Modification of Catalysts on the Catalytic Performance, 3rd Edition)
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16 pages, 4667 KB  
Article
Cerium-Promoted Nickel–Alumina Catalysts for Methane Partial Oxidation: Optimal Loading Strategy for Enhanced Syngas Production
by Ghzzai Almutairi, Norah Alwadai, Wasim Ullah Khan, Fekri Abdulraqeb Ahmed Ali, Mathkar Alharthi, Sami S. Alsaleh, Abdulaziz I. Alromaeh, Bassam Aldraweesh, Mohammed Alsaleh and Ahmed S. Al-Fatesh
Catalysts 2026, 16(7), 619; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal16070619 - 7 Jul 2026
Viewed by 528
Abstract
Methane partial oxidation (POM) offers a promising pathway for syngas production, but achieving optimal catalyst performance requires precise control of promoter loading. We systematically investigated cerium (Ce) promotion on nickel-based catalysts supported on aluminum oxide (Ni/Al2O3) catalysts across 1–3 [...] Read more.
Methane partial oxidation (POM) offers a promising pathway for syngas production, but achieving optimal catalyst performance requires precise control of promoter loading. We systematically investigated cerium (Ce) promotion on nickel-based catalysts supported on aluminum oxide (Ni/Al2O3) catalysts across 1–3 wt.% loadings and identified a critical discovery: catalyst performance exhibits a pronounced non-monotonic response to Ce concentration. The 1 wt.% Ce-promoted catalyst (Ni+1Ce/Al) achieved the superior performance with 65% methane conversion and 60% hydrogen yield at 650 °C, maintaining stable output over 275 min time-on-stream. This smaller Ce amount tunes NiO reducibility, oxygen mobility, and metal–support interactions, resulting in improved activity performance of Ni+1Ce/Al. Notably, Ce promotion shifts the H2/CO ratio from 2.5 to 2.9, with the increased hydrogen yield arising from enhanced water–gas shift chemistry and indirect oxidation pathways. Excess cerium (2–3 wt.%) causes performance deterioration, Ni particle agglomeration, and thus loss of Ni active sites, demonstrating that Ce operates as a structural promoter with a well-defined appropriate concentration window. Moreover, the best performing catalyst (Ni+1Ce/Al) remained stable during 20-h long-term POM. An artificial neural network model achieved exceptional predictive accuracy (R = 0.9758 overall), validating the experimental findings. These results indicate that the best Ce loading for industrial application is 1 wt.% and the traditional alumina supports can be competitive in performance with the advantage of thermal stability and cost-effectiveness when doped with rare-earth elements. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effect of the Modification of Catalysts on the Catalytic Performance, 3rd Edition)
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17 pages, 2445 KB  
Article
Metal-Doped TiO2 Optical Fiber Textiles for Concurrent Removal of Airborne Bacteria and Volatile Organic Compounds
by Amine Aymen Assadi, Youcef Serhane, Mohammod Hafizur Rahman, Mohamed Aziz Hajjaji, Abdelkrim Bouzaza, Hichem Tahraoui, Jie Zhang and Abdeltif Amrane
Catalysts 2026, 16(5), 465; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal16050465 - 16 May 2026
Viewed by 516
Abstract
This study focuses on the application of photocatalysis for air pollution, targeting both chemical and biological contaminants. The selected target compounds were 3-methylbutan-1-ol (C5H12O), a volatile organic compound abundantly generated in the food industry, and Escherichia coli, representing [...] Read more.
This study focuses on the application of photocatalysis for air pollution, targeting both chemical and biological contaminants. The selected target compounds were 3-methylbutan-1-ol (C5H12O), a volatile organic compound abundantly generated in the food industry, and Escherichia coli, representing a relevant bacterial indicator commonly encountered in such industrial environments and effectively embodying a biological threat. In this work, a series of experiments was conducted in a batch reactor using a novel TiO2-based photocatalytic system integrating metal wires, namely copper (Cu) and silver (Ag), woven into an optical fiber support. A comparative evaluation of photocatalytic performance across different media was carried out for the removal of 3-methylbutan-1-ol, as well as for E. coli deactivation. The results demonstrated notable performance of the TiO2-Cu medium for chemical treatment, achieving 97% removal efficiency after 85 min at an inlet concentration of 28 mg·m−3. Similarly, significant antibacterial activity was observed with 5.50 log reduction in colony-forming units (CFU) after 2.5 h. The photocatalytic performance of TiO2-Cu supports was further validated under different operating conditions, including relative humidity levels ranging from 20% to 60% and concentration range from 5–30 mg·m−3. Finally, this study also includes a comparison between the TiO2-Cu support and conventional photocatalytic systems based on TiO2, particularly for simultaneous (combined) treatment of chemical and biological contaminants, with promising and encouraging outcomes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effect of the Modification of Catalysts on the Catalytic Performance, 3rd Edition)
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17 pages, 2574 KB  
Article
One-Pot Green Synthesis of Ashy Single-Crystalline NiO Nanoparticles Using Date Molasses for Enhanced Photo-Fenton-Like Degradation of Pyronin Y Under Solar Illumination
by Amr A. Essawy
Catalysts 2026, 16(4), 339; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal16040339 - 9 Apr 2026
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 902
Abstract
A one-pot green combustion route was developed for the synthesis of ashy single-crystalline NiO nanoparticles using date molasses as a biogenic fuel and complexing medium. The obtained DM–NiO showed phase-pure cubic NiO with an average crystallite size of about 18 nm, a mesoporous [...] Read more.
A one-pot green combustion route was developed for the synthesis of ashy single-crystalline NiO nanoparticles using date molasses as a biogenic fuel and complexing medium. The obtained DM–NiO showed phase-pure cubic NiO with an average crystallite size of about 18 nm, a mesoporous texture with a BET surface area of 68.9 m2 g−1, a pore volume of 0.59 cm3 g−1, an average pore diameter of 17.6 nm, and a mean particle size of 43.6 ± 8.13 nm. Optical characterization revealed defect-mediated light absorption with an energy gap of 3.11 eV, supporting solar-light-driven activity. In the photocatalytic degradation of pyronin Y, the catalyst exhibited strong pH dependence, reaching its best H2O2-free performance at pH 11 with a pseudo-first-order rate constant of 0.0072 min−1, nearly six times higher than that at pH 3. The introduction of H2O2 markedly intensified the process, and at 9 mM H2O2, the rate constant increased to 0.048 min−1, representing more than a sixfold enhancement over photocatalysis alone, while complete disappearance of the main visible absorption band was achieved within 38 min under solar illumination. Radical trapping experiments identified photogenerated holes and hydroxyl radicals as the dominant oxidative species. The catalyst also retained high activity over four successive cycles, with degradation efficiencies decreasing only slightly from 91.8% to 85.7%. These results demonstrate that date-molasses-assisted combustion synthesis provides a sustainable route to defect-active mesoporous NiO with highly enhanced solar photo-Fenton-like performance for dye-contaminated wastewater treatment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effect of the Modification of Catalysts on the Catalytic Performance, 3rd Edition)
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19 pages, 3198 KB  
Article
Interface-Engineered Zn@TiO2 and Ti@ZnO Nanocomposites for Advanced Photocatalytic Degradation of Levofloxacin
by Ishita Raval, Atindra Shukla, Vimal G. Gandhi, Khoa Dang Dang, Niraj G. Nair and Van-Huy Nguyen
Catalysts 2026, 16(1), 109; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal16010109 - 22 Jan 2026
Viewed by 1351
Abstract
The extensive consumption of freshwater resources and the continuous discharge of pharmaceutical residues pose serious risks to aquatic ecosystems and public health. In this study, pristine ZnO, TiO2, Zn@TiO2, and Ti@ZnO nanocomposites were synthesized via a precipitation-assisted solid–liquid interference [...] Read more.
The extensive consumption of freshwater resources and the continuous discharge of pharmaceutical residues pose serious risks to aquatic ecosystems and public health. In this study, pristine ZnO, TiO2, Zn@TiO2, and Ti@ZnO nanocomposites were synthesized via a precipitation-assisted solid–liquid interference method and systematically evaluated for the photocatalytic degradation of the antibiotic levofloxacin under UV and visible light irradiation. The structural, optical, and surface properties of the synthesized materials were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV–visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV–DRS), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). XRD analysis confirmed the crystalline nature of all samples, while SEM images revealed spherical and agglomerated morphologies. Photocatalytic experiments were conducted using a 50-ppm levofloxacin solution with a catalyst dosage of 1 g L−1. Pristine ZnO exhibited limited visible-light activity (33.81%) but high UV-driven degradation (92.98%), whereas TiO2 showed comparable degradation efficiencies under UV (78.6%) and visible light (78.9%). Notably, Zn@TiO2 nanocomposites demonstrated superior photocatalytic performance, achieving over 90% and near 70% degradation under both UV and visible light, respectively, while Ti@ZnO composites exhibited less than 60% degradation. The enhanced activity of Zn@TiO2 is attributed to improved interfacial charge transfer, suppressed electron–hole recombination, and extended light absorption. These findings highlight Zn@TiO2 nanocomposites as promising photocatalysts for efficient treatment of pharmaceutical wastewater under dual-light irradiation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effect of the Modification of Catalysts on the Catalytic Performance, 3rd Edition)
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Review

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22 pages, 14288 KB  
Review
Iron Oxychloride (FeOCl)-Based Materials as High-Performance Heterogeneous Fenton-like Catalysts: Crystal Structure, Reaction Mechanisms, Material Engineering, and Environmental Applications
by Yunzhang Li, Mengxiang Zhu and Tao Ding
Catalysts 2026, 16(8), 703; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal16080703 - 2 Aug 2026
Viewed by 443
Abstract
Iron oxychloride (FeOCl) has recently attracted considerable attention as a high-performance heterogeneous Fenton-like catalyst. Its layered Fe-O-Cl coordination environment enables rapid FeIII/FeII redox cycling and efficient activation of H2O2, thereby promoting the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) for [...] Read more.
Iron oxychloride (FeOCl) has recently attracted considerable attention as a high-performance heterogeneous Fenton-like catalyst. Its layered Fe-O-Cl coordination environment enables rapid FeIII/FeII redox cycling and efficient activation of H2O2, thereby promoting the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) for pollutant degradation. This review summarizes recent progress in FeOCl-based materials, including their crystal structure, optical, electrochemical, magnetic and other physicochemical properties, synthesis strategies, catalytic mechanisms, and environmental applications, with particular emphasis on experimental evidence and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Special attention is given to pH-insensitive H2O2 activation, visible-light-assisted Fenton-like reactions, heterojunction construction, elemental doping, intercalation engineering, membrane-supported catalysts, morphology engineering, and flow-through electro-Fenton configurations. FeOCl-based catalysts have demonstrated outstanding performance in degrading dyes, antibiotics, phenolic compounds, endocrine-disrupting compounds, and other recalcitrant pollutants, while also showing potential in heavy-metal adsorption, selective oxidation, and energy-related applications. Finally, remaining challenges concerning catalyst stability, iron leaching, scalable synthesis, realistic water matrices, byproduct toxicity, and reactor integration are discussed to guide the rational design of practical FeOCl-based catalytic systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effect of the Modification of Catalysts on the Catalytic Performance, 3rd Edition)
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