Emerging Role of Heterogeneous Catalysis in Materials Science and Application
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Materials Science".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2026 | Viewed by 149
Special Issue Editors
Interests: photocatalysis; hydrogen production; biodiesel; reaction kinetics; clean fuels production; nanomaterials for drug delivery
Interests: heterogeneous photocatalysis; green synthesis of nanomaterials; design and characterization of functional nanomaterials; biomaterials and nanostructured materials; sustainable catalytic processes
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Heterogeneous catalysis is undergoing a rapid transformation driven by advances in materials science, operando characterization, and data-enabled design. No longer viewed only as a tool to accelerate chemical reactions, heterogeneous catalysis has become a central platform for engineering functional materials with precisely controlled surface chemistry, electronic structure, and hierarchical architectures. This emerging role is reshaping how catalysts are conceived, synthesized, and deployed across energy, environment, chemicals manufacturing, and biomedicine-adjacent technologies.
Modern catalyst design is increasingly rooted in materials-by-design principles, where active sites are tuned through nanostructuring, defect engineering, alloying, heterojunctions, single-atom catalysts, and metal support interactions. In parallel, progress in porous frameworks, hybrid composites, coreshell systems, and atomically thin materials has enabled unprecedented control over adsorption, charge transfer, and reaction microenvironments. The integration of photocatalysis and electrocatalysis with tailored semiconductors and conductive supports further expands catalytic functionality beyond thermal routes, opening pathways for solar-to-chemical conversion and electrified chemical manufacturing.
A defining trend is the shift from static descriptions to dynamic structure–function relationships, supported by operando spectroscopy/microscopy and multiscale modeling. These tools reveal catalyst evolution under realistic conditions, reconstruction, sintering, phase changes, poisoning, and regeneration—linking durability to material microstructure. Equally important is the move toward sustainable catalysis, including earth-abundant elements, low-temperature processes, circular feedstocks, and catalytic systems designed for minimal waste and safer life cycle performance.
This Special Issue highlights the expanding interface between heterogeneous catalysis and materials science, emphasizing the following:
- Rational synthesis of next-generation catalysts and supports;
- Mechanistic understanding through operando and computational approaches;
- AI/ML-assisted discovery and optimization;
- Catalytic reactor engineering and scale-up;
- High-impact applications in CO2 conversion, hydrogen production, biomass upgrading, environmental remediation, and selective oxidation/reduction processes.
By uniting fundamental insights with translational perspectives, this Special Issue aims to showcase how heterogeneous catalysis is becoming a cornerstone discipline for designing materials that address global challenges in energy, sustainability, and advanced manufacturing.
Prof. Dr. Alejandro Pérez Larios
Dr. Carlos Soto Robles
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- heterogeneous photocatalysis
- photocatalytic materials
- structure–property relationships
- catalyst design
- surface and interface engineering
- operando characterization
- charge transfer dynamics
- sustainable photocatalysis
- CO2 photoconversion
- environmental photocatalysis
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