Proton-exchange membrane fuel cells have been regarded as one of the most promising candidates for efficient energy conversion. However, the CO poisoning of the anode and the scarcity of the Pt metal are two major barriers to their commercialization. Development of CO-tolerant Pd electrocatalysts is considered to be a plausible approach to overcome these problems. Herein we report that for the CO-tolerant H₂ oxidation, sub-2-nm size Pd clusters as well as single atoms, supported on FeO_x nanocrystallites, are highly active and durable at a wide temperature range of 20–120 °C. Experimental data demonstrated that CO preferentially adsorbs on these small Pd clusters or single atoms linearly, resulting in weakened CO binding and enhanced H₂ competitive adsorption. Therefore, FeO_x-supported small Pd clusters or single atoms provide a higher CO-tolerant performance. This finding may offer a new strategy to develop CO-tolerant Pd-based electrodes.

Following our previous report on the selective transformation of cellulose to ethylene glycol (EG) over a binary catalyst composed of tungstic acid and Ru/C, we herein report a new low-cost but more effective binary catalyst by using Raney nickel in place of Ru/C (Raney Ni+H₂WO₄). In addition to tungstic acid, other W compounds were also investigated in combination with Raney Ni. The results showed that the EG yield depended on the W compound: H₄SiW₁₂O₄₀<H₃PW₁₂O₄₀<WO₃<H₂WO₄, but all the investigated W compounds were selective towards EG. Moreover, both WO₃ and H₂WO₄ were dissolved partially under the reaction conditions and transformed into H_xWO₃, which is the genuinely active species for the CC bond breakage of cellulose. This result further confirmed that the reaction that involves the selective breakage of the CC bonds of cellulose with W species is homogenous. Among various binary catalysts, the combination of Raney Ni and H₂WO₄ gave the highest yield of EG (65 %), which could be attributed to the high activity of Raney Ni for hydrogenation and its inertness for the further degradation of EG. Moreover, Raney Ni+H₂WO₄ showed good reusability; it could be reused at least 17 times without any decay in the EG yield, which shows its great potential for industrial applications.

In this paper we describe a rapid and effective wet chemical route to the synthesis of netlike AuCu dimetallic nanowires, in which HAuCl₄ and Cu(NO₃)₂ were co-reduced by NaBH₄ in aqueous solution in the presence of surfactant Triton X-100. The nanowires are composed of homogeneous Au–Cu alloy and possess a uniform diameter of around 3.7 nm. The influence of the experimental parameters – including the concentration of the reducing agent and capping agent, kinds of capping agent, and the ratio of Au/Cu – on the formation of AuCu nanowires have been studied. Among the various parameters investigated, copper was found to play a key role in facilitating the formation of nanowires by means of an oriented attachment mechanism. This method can be further extended to the synthesis of other copper-containing dimetallic nanowires such as PtCu and PdCu dimetallic nanowire networks.

A series of Ni-promoted W₂C/activated carbon (AC) catalysts were investigated for the catalytic conversion of Jerusalem artichoke tuber (JAT) under hydrothermal conditions and hydrogen pressure. Even a small amount of Ni could greatly promote the conversion of JAT to 1,2-propylene glycol (1,2-PG), whereas the pure W₂C/AC catalyst resulted in the selective formation of acetol. The product distribution profiles involving the reaction temperature, time, and H₂ pressure indicated that 1,2-PG formed as a result of acetol hydrogenation, which was catalyzed by Ni. Thus, there was a synergy between W₂C and Ni, and the best performance yielded 38.5 % of 1,2-PG over a 4 % Ni–20 % W₂C/AC catalyst at 245 °C, 6 MPa H₂, and 80 min. To understand the reaction process, some important intermediates, such as inulin, fructose, acetol, glyceraldehyde, and 1,3-dihydroxyacetone, were used as the feedstock. Based on the product distributions derived from these intermediates, a reaction pathway was proposed, where JAT was first hydrolyzed into a mixture of fructose and glucose under the catalysis of H⁺, then the sugars underwent a retro-aldol reaction followed by hydrogenation catalyzed by Ni–W₂C.

A series of Ni-promoted W₂C catalysts was prepared by means of a post-impregnation method and evaluated for the catalytic conversion of cellulose into ethylene glycol (EG). Quite different from our previously reported Ni–W₂C/AC catalysts, which were prepared by using the co-impregnation method, the introduction of Ni by the post-impregnation method did not cause catalyst sintering, but resulted in redispersion of the W component, which was identified and characterized by means of XRD, TEM, and CO chemisorption. The highly dispersed Ni-promoted W₂C catalyst was very active and selective in cellulose conversion into EG, with a 100 % conversion of cellulose and a 73.0 % yield in EG. The underlying reason for the enhanced catalytic performance was most probably the significantly higher dispersion of active sites on the catalyst.

Hydroxyalkylation–alkylation (HAA) coupled with hydrodeoxygenation is a promising route for the synthesis of renewable high-quality diesel or jet fuel. In this work, a series of solid-acid catalysts were firstly used for HAA between lignocellulose-derived furan and carbonyl compounds. Among the investigated catalysts, Nafion-212 resin demonstrated the highest activity and stability. Owing to the high activity of the reactants and the advantage in industrial integration, the HAA of 2-methylfuran (2-MF) and furfural can be considered as a prospective route in future applications. Catalyst loading, reaction temperature, and time had evident effects on the HAA of 2-MF and furfural over Nafion-212 resin. Finally, the HAA product of 2-MF and furfural was hydrogenated over a Pd/C catalyst and hydrodeoxygenated over Pt-loaded solid-acid catalysts. Pt/zirconium phosphate (Pt/ZrP) was found to be the best catalyst for hydrodeoxygenation. Over the 4 % Pt/ZrP catalyst, a 94 % carbon yield of diesel and 75 % carbon yield of C15 hydrocarbons (with 6-butylundecane as the major component) was achieved.