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Nanomaterials
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Advanced Understanding of Metal-Based Catalysts
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Advanced Understanding of Metal-Based Catalysts

A special issue of Nanomaterials (ISSN 2079-4991). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy and Catalysis".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 November 2025) | Viewed by 4038

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Patricia Concepción

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Instituto de Tecnología Química (ITQ), Universitat Politècnica de València-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (UPV-CSIC), Av. dels Tarongers, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Interests: heterogeneous catalysis; in situ spectroscopy; metal-based catalysts
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Daviel Gómez Acosta

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Instituto de Tecnología Química, Universitat Politècnica de València-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (UPV-CSIC), Avenida de los Naranjos s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Interests: heterogeneous catalysis; chemical kinetics; operando spectroscopy; reaction mechanism; metal catalysts
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Metal-based catalysts plays a key role in many catalytic processes; however, the lack of fundamental understanding of catalytic active sites combined with the dynamic behavior of catalysts under reaction conditions and the complexity of many catalytic systems greatly limits the deployment of new emerging production processes. The emergence of advanced spectroscopic tools, kinetic approaches and DFT predictive models has allowed for a better understanding of catalytic systems, opening a range of new research opportunities during recent years.

This Special Issue has the objective of encompassing relevant studies in the field of catalysis, with particular emphasis on metal-based catalysts and a fundamental understanding of active sites and reaction mechanisms. The goal is to promote current knowledge about metal-based catalysts and new tools that can contribute to a better understanding of actual catalytic processes, promoting the design and development of new catalytic systems.

Potential topics in this Special Issue include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Optimized catalyst design;
  • In situ or operando spectroscopy;
  • Catalyst restructuration and dynamic behavior;
  • Industry-relevant catalytic processes;
  • DFT and predictive models;
  • Kinetic studies and modeling.

Dr. Patricia Concepción Heydorn
Dr. Daviel Gómez Acosta
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-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nanomaterials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2400 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

  • catalysis
  • metal-based catalysts
  • spectroscopy
  • DFT
  • modeling
  • kinetics

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 3411 KB  
Article
Enhancing Stability of Cu/ZnO Catalysts in the CO2 Hydrogenation to Methanol by the Addition of MoO3 and ReO3 Promoters
by Jose Soriano Rodríguez, José Manuel López Nieto, Enrique Rodriguez-Castellón, Antonia Infantes, Daviel Gómez and Patricia Concepción
Nanomaterials 2025, 15(22), 1730; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano15221730 - 17 Nov 2025
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1628
Abstract
The catalytic hydrogenation of CO2 to methanol represents a promising route for carbon recycling and hydrogen storage. However, the stability of current catalysts remains one of the main technological challenges. In this work, we investigate the promotional effect of MoO3 and [...] Read more.
The catalytic hydrogenation of CO2 to methanol represents a promising route for carbon recycling and hydrogen storage. However, the stability of current catalysts remains one of the main technological challenges. In this work, we investigate the promotional effect of MoO3 and ReO3 on Cu/ZnO-based catalysts with metal loadings ranging from 0.06 to 3.5 wt%. Spectroscopic (XPS and in situ Raman) and kinetic studies reveal that the incorporation of ultra-low promoter amounts (0.06 wt%) enhances methanol productivity, whereas higher concentrations lead to partial blocking of the active copper sites. Rhenium promotes the stabilization of Cu+ species, while molybdenum establishes strong Cu-Mo interactions that modify the reducibility and surface composition of the catalyst. Remarkably, long-term stability tests (80 h, 240 °C, 20 bar and CO2/H2 = 3) demonstrate that Mo-promoted catalysts exhibit superior durability, reducing the deactivation constants by up to 82% compared to the un-promoted Cu/ZnO sample. This enhanced stability is attributed to the higher Cu-MoO3 interaction, enhanced Cu dispersion and high water affinity of Mo species, which trap water as Mo-OH bonds, preventing copper sintering under reaction conditions. These findings highlight the dual role of Re and Mo in tuning both activity and stability, emphasizing the crucial influence of Mo on the long-term performance of Cu-based catalysts for CO2 to methanol conversion. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Understanding of Metal-Based Catalysts)
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21 pages, 6957 KB  
Article
Impact of Metal Source Structure on the Electrocatalytic Properties of Polyacrylonitrile-Derived Co-N-Doped Oxygen Reduction Reaction Catalysts
by Arseniy Kalnin, Ksenia Kharisova, Daniil Lukyanov, Sofia Filippova, Ruopeng Li, Peixia Yang, Oleg Levin and Elena Alekseeva
Nanomaterials 2024, 14(23), 1924; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano14231924 - 29 Nov 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1632
Abstract
The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) plays a central role in energy conversion and storage technologies. A promising alternative to precious metal catalysts are non-precious metal doped carbons. Considerable efforts have been devoted to cobalt-doped carbonized polyacrylonitrile catalysts, but the optimization of their catalytic [...] Read more.
The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) plays a central role in energy conversion and storage technologies. A promising alternative to precious metal catalysts are non-precious metal doped carbons. Considerable efforts have been devoted to cobalt-doped carbonized polyacrylonitrile catalysts, but the optimization of their catalytic performance remains a key challenge. We have proposed a multifunctional active metal source strategy based on the cobalt complex with the ligand containing pyridine and azo-fragments. This complex simultaneously provides the nitrogenous environment for the Co atoms and acts as a blowing agent due to N2 extrusion, thus increasing the surface area and porosity of the material. This strategy provided the catalysts with a high surface area and pore volume, combined with the greater fraction of Co-N clusters, and a lesser amount and smaller size of Co metal particles compared to conventionally prepared catalysts, resulting in improved catalytic performance. In addition to strict 4-electron ORR kinetics and 383 mV overpotential, the novel catalysts exhibit limiting current values close to the Pt/C benchmark and greatly overcome the Pt in methanol tolerance. These results demonstrate the critical role of metal source structure and carbonization parameters in tailoring the structural and electrochemical properties of the catalysts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Understanding of Metal-Based Catalysts)
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