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Heterogeneous Catalyst Materials: Research Advances and Characterization Techniques

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Catalytic Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 February 2026 | Viewed by 544

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Well Drilling, Extraction and Transport of Hydrocarbons, Petroleum-Gas University of Ploiesti, 39 Bucharest Blvd., 100680 Ploiesti, Romania
Interests: heterogeneous catalysis; catalyst design and optimization, nanostructured materials (CNTs, GNWs,…); advanced characterization techniques; computational chemistry and DFT modeling; sustainable chemical processes; chemical production technologies
Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Polytechnic University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
Interests: chemical reaction engineering and kinetics; chemical engineering process optimization; modeling and simulation of chemical processes
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue focuses on recent advancements in heterogeneous catalytic materials tailored for chemical, petrochemical, and environmental applications. Particular attention is awarded to the rational design, synthesis, and performance evaluation of advanced catalysts such as transition metal oxides, mixed-metal spinels, supported solid acids, and magnetically recoverable nanomaterials.

A key component of this issue is the integration of multi-technique characterization methods as XRD for crystalline phase identification, SEM/TEM for surface morphology and particle size distribution, BET for surface area and porosity analysis, XPS for surface composition and oxidation states, EPR for identifying paramagnetic active centers, and TGA-DSC for thermal stability and reaction profiling. These techniques are essential to unravel the intricate relationships between structure, activity, and selectivity, offering deep insight into catalyst behavior under real reaction conditions.

Contributions focusing on reaction kinetics, rate-determining steps, mass transfer limitations, and thermodynamic feasibility are strongly encouraged, particularly when coupled with process modeling, reaction mechanism elucidation, or optimization strategies such as Design of Experiments (DoE) approaches and computational simulations.

By bridging materials science, catalysis, and chemical engineering, this Special Issue aims to offer a cutting-edge platform for developing efficient, selective, and sustainable catalytic systems that address the current industrial and environmental challenges.

Dr. Rami Doukeh
Dr. Ionuț Banu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • heterogeneous catalysis
  • catalyst design and optimization
  • advanced characterization techniques
  • reaction kinetics and mechanisms
  • nanostructured materials
  • magnetic catalysts
  • transition-metal oxides
  • sustainable chemical processes

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

15 pages, 6636 KB  
Article
Ni/Ce0.2Zr0.8O2 Catalysts for Dry Reforming of Methane: Effects of Surfactant Amount on the Support Structure and Properties
by Haoran Sun, Xiaotian Zhou, Buhuan Wang, Tao Yang, Jingyi Yang, Ningyu Jia and Meng Zhang
Materials 2025, 18(18), 4329; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18184329 (registering DOI) - 16 Sep 2025
Viewed by 416
Abstract
Dry reforming of methane (DRM) is an effective strategy to simultaneously convert CH4 and CO2 into valuable syngas. However, the widely employed Ni-based catalysts often suffer from rapid deactivation due to metal sintering and deposited carbon under harsh conditions. Herein, Ni/Ce [...] Read more.
Dry reforming of methane (DRM) is an effective strategy to simultaneously convert CH4 and CO2 into valuable syngas. However, the widely employed Ni-based catalysts often suffer from rapid deactivation due to metal sintering and deposited carbon under harsh conditions. Herein, Ni/Ce0.2Zr0.8O2 catalysts were synthesized using the evaporation-induced self-assembly (EISA) method with the addition of the triblock copolymer surfactant P123. The addition of an appropriate amount of P123 improved the Ni dispersion; reduced Ni particle size; and enhanced the activation efficiency of both CH4 and CO2, thus increasing the reaction rate. In addition, the addition of P123 also enhanced the surface basicity and increased the concentration of oxygen vacancies of the catalyst, which enhanced its carbon removal capability and reduced deposited carbon. The catalyst with 0.2% P123 maintained excellent catalytic activity and stability for 300 min at 700 °C, with CH4 and CO2 conversion of 75% and 78%, respectively. These findings provide valuable guidance for the rational design of efficient and stable Ni-based catalysts for DRM. Full article
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