Predictive Modeling in Catalysis

A special issue of Catalysts (ISSN 2073-4344). This special issue belongs to the section "Computational Catalysis".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 November 2025 | Viewed by 1093

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
SUNCAT Center for Interface Science and Catalysis, Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
Interests: theoretical chemistry; molecular engineering; computational catalysis; materials informatics; cheminformatics; machine learning

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues, 

Accurate prediction of catalytic performance—including activity, selectivity, and stability—is the cornerstone of rational catalyst design. This Special Issue focuses on realistic and robust modeling strategies that bridge theory and experiment to enable predictive insights into both heterogeneous and molecule-based catalytic systems. We welcome contributions that employ a range of methodologies of different natures and scales, including quantum mechanical calculations, statistical mechanics, and data-driven approaches (both interpretable machine learning and deep learning), with a balance of mechanistic insights and designs that leverage current knowledge. Emphasis is placed on models that go beyond simplistic or idealized systems to capture complex catalytic environments and phenomena, offering predictive power across reaction conditions, time and size scales, and material classes. We especially encourage approaches that challenge the status quo, i.e., existing design principles, paradigms, and workflows. By highlighting the advances in predictive models, this collection aims to advance the state-of-the-art in computational catalysis, connect the worlds of experiments and theories, and accelerate the discovery and optimization of practical catalytic systems.

Dr. Zisheng Zhang
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • catalysis
  • computational catalysis
  • realistic modeling
  • multi-scale modeling
  • surface reconstruction
  • reaction kinetics
  • machine learning
  • surface science

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 12491 KB  
Article
Effects of Sodium-to-OSDA Ratio in the Synthesis Gel on SSZ-39 Formation and Material Properties
by Zheng Cui, Charles E. Umhey, Daniel F. Shantz and Jean-Sabin McEwen
Catalysts 2025, 15(10), 989; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal15100989 - 16 Oct 2025
Viewed by 401
Abstract
This work quantifies how varying the Na/OSDA ratio in the synthesis gel (at fixed total [OH] content) affects the formation of SSZ-39, its growth kinetics, and the composition of the products obtained. It was found that it is possible to make phase-pure SSZ-39 [...] Read more.
This work quantifies how varying the Na/OSDA ratio in the synthesis gel (at fixed total [OH] content) affects the formation of SSZ-39, its growth kinetics, and the composition of the products obtained. It was found that it is possible to make phase-pure SSZ-39 with Si/Al ratios varying from 6.3 to 10.7 with Na/OSDA ratios from 9.1 to 1.7 in the synthesis gel. Higher Na/OSDA ratios lead to faster crystallization, supporting the hypothesis that FAU dissolution is the rate-limiting step in SSZ-39 synthesis when FAU serves as the aluminum source. DFT modeling suggests that, in the presence of OSDA molecules, increased Na content lowers the energy penalty for placing Al atoms in close proximity, which may explain why higher NaOH/OSDA ratios experimentally yield lower Si:Al ratios. This work offers another way to control the framework composition and potentially impact the local structure of the SSZ-39 that is obtained. Cobalt titration was performed to probe the presence of so-called aluminum pairs in samples made with different Na/OSDA ratios. The cobalt uptake in the H-form products is consistently low and suggests that factors other than aluminum pairing, such as solution pH, could be important in influencing the cobalt uptake. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Predictive Modeling in Catalysis)
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11 pages, 2192 KB  
Article
Atomic-Scale Insights into Cu-Modified ZrO2 Catalysts: The Crucial Role of Surface Clusters in Phenol Carboxylation with CO2
by Kaihua Zhang, Sébastien Paul and Jérémie Zaffran
Catalysts 2025, 15(9), 902; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal15090902 - 18 Sep 2025
Viewed by 491
Abstract
The catalytic performance of metal oxide materials is profoundly influenced by both chemical composition and surface morphology, particularly at high dopant loadings where metallic clusters can form. Here, we use density functional theory (DFT) to elucidate how copper incorporation—either as isolated dopants or [...] Read more.
The catalytic performance of metal oxide materials is profoundly influenced by both chemical composition and surface morphology, particularly at high dopant loadings where metallic clusters can form. Here, we use density functional theory (DFT) to elucidate how copper incorporation—either as isolated dopants or as surface clusters—modulates the mechanism and activity of ZrO2 catalysts in the direct carboxylation of phenol to para-hydroxybenzoic acid. Our results reveal that while Cu doping inhibits C–H bond activation, the presence of Cu clusters at the ZrO2 surface dramatically lowers the barrier for C–C coupling with CO2, owing to unique interfacial sites that facilitate substrate activation and CO2 bending. We show that the reaction mechanism shifts from an Eley–Rideal pathway on pure ZrO2 to a Langmuir–Hinshelwood mechanism on Cu-modified surfaces, with the rate-determining step depending on the Cu morphology. These findings demonstrate that even small amounts of metallic clusters can fundamentally alter catalytic pathways, providing actionable insights for the rational design of heterogeneous catalysts for selective aromatic carboxylation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Predictive Modeling in Catalysis)
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