In this issue of Chem Catalysis, Xie and colleagues investigate degradation mechanisms in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) and their evolution over prolonged operation. Using advanced characterization techniques, the authors analyze modifications in catalyst morphology and ionomer properties.

In the Journal of American Chemical Society, Wang and co-workers report a one-pot C–N bond-formation strategy through NH2OH-mediated electrochemical reductive amination of carbonyls and nitrite. This elegant pathway, combining high yield and Faradaic efficiency in neutral media, opens new opportunities for designing electrocatalytic amine synthesis.

Reporting in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, Lu Li, Chao-Jun Li, and colleagues have designed a Ga-ZnO1–x nanosheet photocatalyst with rich frustrated Lewis pair (FLP) sites. They present a green methanol-to-ethanol conversion protocol and establish a safe strategy for generating methyl carbene under mild conditions.

A recent study published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society by Wenbin Lin and colleagues introduces a groundbreaking viologen-linked porphyrin covalent organic framework (Vio-COF) that leverages linker-to-linker charge transfer (LLCT) to achieve exceptional near-infrared (NIR) light absorption with an absorption edge extending to 998 nm.

In a recent issue of Nature Catalysis, Liu and co-workers introduce metal-vacancy engineering to enhance hole mobility in transition-metal oxides, significantly improving photoelectrochemical water-splitting performance. This concept is crucial to addressing the disparity between hole and electron mobility and holds strong potential for broader application in catalysis and the development of functional

In this issue of Chem Catalysis, Rueping and co-workers report an elegant electrochemical nickel-catalyzed cross-electrophile coupling protocol between chlorogermanes and allylic carbonates, offering a powerful tool for the efficient synthesis of allylgermanes.

In a recent Science article, Shi et al. introduce a novel ripening-induced embedding method for anchoring iridium nanoparticles within a ceria support, dramatically enhancing catalyst stability and performance for proton-exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolysis. Their catalyst achieved exceptional efficiency at an ultra-low iridium loading (0.3 mg/cm2) by maintaining a cell voltage of 1.72 V at 3

In a recent issue of Nature Materials, Zhe Li et al. propose a two-step synthesis for enhancing copper’s catalytic performance in the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) by introducing distorted nanotwins. Their study—covering growth, high-level characterization, simulation, and performance—demonstrates how structural modifications improve hydrogen adsorption and boost HER activity.

Reporting in Nature Chemical Engineering, Chen and co-workers have developed an innovative tandem catalytic strategy for transforming biogas into valuable carbon nanofibers. By decoupling the overall conversion into two stages, dry reforming at 600°C and carbon nanofiber (CNF) synthesis at 450°C, they address the limitations of traditional single-stage processes that operate at temperatures over 800°C

Photocatalytic methods for producing hydrogen peroxide as both a solar fuel and a key chemical feedstock are of growing interest. In this issue of Chem Catalysis, Pan, Hu, Chu, and co-workers draw closer to scalable particulate photocatalysis by engineering a 1 m2 solar-driven flow reactor for the conversion of water and air to hydrogen peroxide.

Enhancing the selectivity of C=O hydrogenation without affecting the conjugated C=C bond poses a challenge in heterogeneous catalysis. In a recent work published in Chem, Zhou et al. prepared and characterized atomically dispersed Pt over Fe arranged in unique Pt-Fe-Pt trimer configurations, which showed highly selective hydrogenation of the C=O group in crotonaldehyde without compromising the reaction

In a recent issue of Nature Catalysis, Kim, Choi, and co-workers proposed that alkali metal (AM+) cations act as co-catalysts in the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). ORR activities in different AM+ concentrations overlap on the AM+-concentration-corrected electrode scale, leading to a potentially generalizable cation-coupled electron-transfer mechanism.