Materials’ Support in Catalysis: Advantages, Synthesis and Applications

Dear Colleagues,

The use of heterogeneous catalysts has been an inseparable part of any chemical industry and has always undergone changes for obtaining a better reaction performance. These changes are linked to catalyst design, synthesis, and modifications with the optimum goal to elevate the yield and selectivity towards the desired products. Similarly, environmental remediation of different pollutants using catalysts has been another area of research that has received an enormous amount of interest. In general, there are two key factors required for a catalyst to be assumed as a potential candidate in real industrial application—having a high activity/selectivity and being easily regenerated and reused. However, the availability and the cost of resources for developing those catalysts are an additional factor to be considered. The utilization of materials known as “catalyst supports” integrated with the catalyst has been a beneficial approach in catalyst development towards the lowering of the cost and elevating catalyst efficiency. The catalyst support is usually a material present in major amount in the supported catalyst and is stated to provide low or negligible catalytic activity, high surface area, thermal and mechanical stability, resistance to reaction medium, while it is also low-cost. The utilization of active catalysts supported inside continuous flow/microflow reactors is another prosperous modern strategy of great industrial interest, since the efficiency per mass of catalyst can reach enormous values. Finally, the catalyst-on-support approach can lead to single atom catalysts towards specific and selective catalytic reactions.

This Special Issue aims to collect research works highlighting the use of “material supports” in various important reactions involved in heterogeneous catalysis. Detailed study of the synthesis and modification of catalyst supports, the mechanism involved in support–catalyst interaction, and the advantages of using supported catalysts over unmodified catalysts are some of the key aspects which this issue shall focus on. Additionally, it shall present green-oriented approaches for the synthesis of supports, such as biopolymer and biomass-derived carbonaceous substrates. Finally, a highlight of the issue will be to compile works involving the use of material supports in various modes of catalysis such as thermocatalysis, electrocatalysis, sonocatalysis, photocatalysis, biocatalysis, etc. In this context, we invite the submission of original research papers, communications, and review articles presenting recent developments and trends in the synthesis, characterization, and applications of materials as catalyst support, with a preferable focus on chemical, biofuel synthesis. and environment-oriented applications, such as water/air remediation and biomass valorization.

Dr. Juan Carlos Colmenares
Dr. Dimitrios Giannakoudakis
Dr. Vaishakh Nair
Dr. Jovana Prekodravac
Guest Editors

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