homogeneous-catalysis

Plants contain an enormous amount of stored carbon that could be used to make fuels, plastics and other useful products. One of the biggest obstacles is lignin, a tough natural material that helps plants stand upright but is notoriously difficult for industry to break down. Lignin is found in the walls of plant cells and […] The post Tiny Catalyst Could Turn Plant Waste Into Valuable Chemicals ap…

Nature Communications, Published online: 12 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-77436-w Chiral polycyclic spirocycles are privileged molecular scaffolds for drug discovery and asymmetric synthesis, yet their efficient stereoselective construction remains challenging. Here, the authors report a Pd/Sadphos-catalyzed asymmetric dearomative cascade that delivers polycyclic spiro enones with three …

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 11 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01613-9 Ni(OH)2 catalysts are commonly assumed to oxidize to NiOOH under water oxidation conditions. Now in situ surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy and DFT calculations reveal that the catalytically active surface at relevant potentials is terminated by NiO2 as bands once assigned to superoxides instead arise from NiO2…

Stimuli-responsive nanotherapy (SRN) has emerged as a promising therapeutic strategy that employs nanosensitizers activated by external physical or chemical stimuli to generate reactive species for disease treatment. Among various nanosensitizers, metal nanoparticles (MNPs) have attracted considerable attention owing to their unique physicochemical properties, including tunable optical responses,…

Nature Communications, Published online: 11 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-77291-9 Developing durable non-noble-metal catalysts for acidic water oxidation remains challenging. Here, the authors show that neodymium doping stabilizes active Mn3+ species, enabling manganese oxide to operate for over 1000 h at 200 mA cm−2.

Nature Communications, Published online: 11 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-77708-5 Fischer−Tropsch synthesis to paraffinic kerosene is a crucial pathway to obtain sustainable aviation fuel, but a more efficient catalyst is needed for practical applications. Here, the authors report a cobalt manganese catalyst supported on tetrapropylammonium hydroxide-etched Beta zeolites that addresses t…

Scientific Reports, Published online: 11 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41598-026-70825-7 Efficient dark catalytic degradation of hazardous cationic dyes using a magnetic Fe 3 O 4 /rGO/CdS nanocomposite

Nature Nanotechnology, Published online: 07 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41565-026-02271-5 Single copper atoms on boron nanosheets dynamically and reversibly switch to clusters, enabling the direct conversion of methane to acetic acid with 97% selectivity and high activity without the requirement for carbon monoxide.

Nature Communications, Published online: 10 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-77706-7 Carbon deposition hampers the conversion of methane and carbon dioxide into syngas. Here, the authors use visible light to help oxygen move through a nickel-based catalyst, preventing carbon deposits while boosting methane conversion and hydrogen production.

Nature Chemistry, Published online: 10 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41557-026-02245-z Visualizing plasmon-enhanced H2 activation and propagation on catalytic surfaces remains challenging because conventional spectroscopies lack nanoscale resolution. Now it has been shown that tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy maps H2 activation within an Ag tip–Pt(111) nanocavity and reveals H atoms propagating hun…

Scientists found that a tiny atomic structure that forms on nickel oxide during methane conversion is more effective than the metallic nickel long believed to drive the reaction. The discovery allowed a low-nickel catalyst to rival one containing 10 times more metal, potentially opening the door to cheaper and more efficient industrial catalysts.

image: CuZn800@C was constructed via solvothermal method and utilizes the high-temperature volatility of zinc to prepare through calcination at different temperatures, which displays a high methane Faradaic efficiency of 64.5% and a remarkable partial current density of -551.3 mA/cm2 at -1.7 V vs. RHE, along with excellent stability. Zn and Cu form a tandem reaction system. Zn sites promote water…

Nature Communications, Published online: 08 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-77521-0 Ruthenium oxide can lower the demand for scarce iridium in acidic water electrolysis, but its long-term stability is limited. Here, the authors report a two-dimensional carbon-ruthenium oxide composite that stabilizes active sites and enables durable water-splitting performance.

Copper has been knocked off the top of a stability ranking it had dominated for decades. Without altering the atoms directly bonded to the metal, a KAIST research team reversed the longstanding trend in which copper generally forms the most stable complexes by tuning only the weak hydrogen bonds in its surrounding environment. The findings could open new avenues for selective metal separation and…

Nature Chemistry, Published online: 07 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41557-026-02243-1 Electrochemical CO2 reduction is typically constrained by proton-coupled electron transfer, which couples CO2 conversion with competing H2 evolution. Now it has been shown that a Janus palladium membrane electrode enables selective formate production through heterogeneous hydride transfer, providing access to el…

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 07 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01609-5 Achieving efficient electrocatalytic conversion of CO2 and CO to high-value multi-carbon products remains a major challenge. Now, plasma activation is coupled with electrocatalysis on copper to enable unexplored reaction pathways, enhancing the production rates of C3+ hydrocarbons and oxygenates.

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 07 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01605-9 Understanding the role of nickel surface species in the hydrogen evolution reaction under alkaline conditions is crucial for developing precious-metal-free water electrolysers. Now, by systematically studying well-defined Ni surfaces, the authors dissect the contribution of NiO, NiHx and Ni(OH)2 species to the h…

Scientific Reports, Published online: 07 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41598-026-68916-6 Synthesis of SAPO-34 using polyacrylamide enhances the catalyst lifetime and selectivity of light olefins in MTO