Unraveling the Electrocatalytic Activity in HMF Oxidation to FDCA by Fine-Tuning the Degree of NiOOH Phase Over Ni Nanoparticles Supported on Graphene Oxide.

The development of an efficient electrocatalyst for HMF oxidation to FDCA has been in the early stages. Herein, the NiNPs/GO-Ni-foam is fabricated as an electrocatalyst for FDCA production. However, the electrocatalytic performance of the untreated NiNPs/GO-Ni-foam is observed with moderate Faradaic efficiency (FE) (73.

Bifunctional Pt/Au Janus electrocatalysts for simultaneous oxidation/reduction of furfural with bipolar electrochemistry.

The sustainable conversion of biomass-derived compounds into high added-value products is a very important contemporary scientific challenge. In this context, we report here the simultaneous electro-oxidation/-reduction of a biomass-derived compound in a one-pot approach using bipolar electrochemistry. Bifunctional Pt/Au Janus electrocatalysts are employed for a selective conversion of furfural into both, furfuryl alcohol and furoic acid, which can't be achieved when using non-Janus particles.

Fine-tuning the chemical state and acidity of ceria incorporated in hierarchical zeolites for ethanol dehydration.

The chemical state and acidity of ceria incorporated in hierarchical zeolites have been successfully tuned due to the presence of hierarchical structures of zeolite nanosheets and interaction between ceria and zeolite supports with different Si/Al ratios. The Ce reactivity of the designed materials for ethanol dehydration is remarkably improved due to the improvement of the metal-support interaction, acidity, and reducibility of Ce species, eventually facilitating an unprecedented yield of ethylene close to 100%. This finding opens up a new perspective for the development of ceria based hierarchical zeolite catalysts for ethanol dehydration applications.

Synthesis, Characterization, and Electrochemical Applications of Chiral Imprinted Mesoporous Ni Surfaces.

The enantioselective synthesis of chiral compounds is of crucial importance for a wide range of potential applications, especially in cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. Recently, chiral imprinted mesoporous platinum films, produced by the electrodeposition of the metal, in the simultaneous presence of a lyotropic liquid crystalline phase of nonionic surfactants as mesoporogens and chiral templates, have been applied as electrocatalysts and selective stationary phases for the asymmetric synthesis and separation of chiral compounds, respectively. However, platinum is an expensive metal, and therefore it is mandatory to explore the possibility to apply this concept also to other metals.

Nanoceria-modified platinum supported on hierarchical zeolites for selective alcohol oxidation.

The highly selective oxidation of alcohols to aldehydes has been achieved due to the synergic effect of Pt and CeO supported on hierarchical zeolites. The combination of Pt and CeO strongly enhances the catalytic performance of the oxidation of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde with respect to the isolated materials. In addition, the hierarchical zeolite not only increases the fraction of exposed active sites because of its high surface area that can prevent the aggregation of Pt and CeO nanoparticles, but also affects the oxidation state of cerium.