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Catalyst wettability regulation has emerged as an attractive approach for high catalytic performance for the past few years. By introducing appropriate wettability, the molecule diffusion of reactants and products can be enhanced, leading to high activity. Besides this, undesired molecules are isolated for high selectivity of target products and long‐term stability of catalyst. Herein, we summarize wettability‐induced high‐performance heterogeneous thermocatalysis in recent years, including hydrophilicity, hydrophobicity, hybrid hydrophilicity‐hydrophobicity, amphiphilicity, and superaerophilicity. Relevant reactions are further classified and described according to the reason for the performance improvement. It should be pointed out that studies of utilizing superaerophilicity to improve heterogeneous thermocatalytic performance have been included for the first time, so this is a comparatively comprehensive review in this field as yet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report herein a versatile new approach for improving the photodegradation performance of UiO-66 by introducing 2-methylimidazole through a straightforward in situ one-pot solvothermal method. The resultant complex UiO-66-M-0.7 has demonstrated a reaction rate constant of 0.0183 min−1 in the photodegradation of rhodamine B under visible light, which is 69.4% higher than that with unmodulated UiO-66. Further investigation has confirmed that the improved activity can be attributed to enhanced adsorption of the dye by the photocatalyst during the adsorption–desorption equilibrium. The main active species involved in the photodegradation process have been identified as h+ and O2−·. In addition, the complex has shown ideal stability in recycling tests and excellent activity in the degradation of methylene blue. This study provides a novel perspective for the future design of various photocatalysts with superior performance. 2-Methylimidazole-modulated UiO-66 exhibits increased catalytic performance in the photodegradation of rhodamine B (RhB) under visible light because of enhanced adsorption of RhB on the catalyst during the adsorption-desorption equilibrium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Olefin epoxidation plays an important role in chemical industry because of the significance of epoxides. Developing cost‐effective catalysts with high catalytic performance for epoxidation is of great importance. Herein, we report a promising heterogeneous catalyst based on Co3O4 nanoparticles encapsulated in the inside wall of a meso‐SiO2 shell (denoted as Co3O4@meso‐SiO2) as hollow nanoreactor. Due to the particular hollow structure as well as mesoporous shell wall, the resulting catalyst showed excellent activity and recyclability for various olefins with molecular oxygen and iso‐butyraldehyde as co‐oxidants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For conventional gas‐liquid‐solid three‐phase heterogeneous hydrogenation reactions, hydrogen must be dissolved into the solvent to be a participating reactant, restricting the reaction rates. In this study, we demonstrate that gaseous hydrogen could be directly involved in gas‐liquid‐solid hydrogenation reactions through a bioinspired hollow nanoreactor with superaerophilic surface to enhance the reaction rates. We produce Pd@meso‐SiO2 hollow nanoreactor, whose external surface is modified with perfluorodecyltriethoxysilane (PFDTS). In aqueous solutions, H2 gas could be spread quickly on the surface and stored in the cavity of hollow spheres, and participated in hydrogenation reactions, thereby enhancing H2 concentration around Pd nanoparticles. In hydrogenation of olefin reactions, such three‐phase interface allows rapid and direct transportation of H2 bubbles to the surface of Pd nanoparticles rather than through diffusion of dissolved H2 in liquid phase, leading to an enhanced catalytic rate. This strategy is expected to be useful for designing and developing new catalytic systems of gas‐liquid‐solid three‐phase reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liquid hydrogenation reaction is one of the essential reactions in fine chemical and pharmaceutical industry. The low H2 concentration on catalyst surface is a major kinetic limitation for these reactions. In this study, it is proposed and demonstrated for the first time that creating superaerophilic surface is an efficient way to increase H2 concentration on catalyst surface, and thus significantly enhancing the hydrogenation reaction rate in aqueous solution. As a proof of concept, Pd nanoparticles loaded on graphene aerogel (GA) with different degrees of aerophilic/aerophobic surfaces (denoted as Pd/GA, Pd/NGA‐2, and Pd/NGA‐4, respectively) are prepared and tested for hydrogenation reactions. Pd/GA with superaerophilic property (H2 bursting time within 92 ms) shows the highest catalytic reaction rate in all tested reactions under the same conditions, including hydrogenation of styrene, nitro, and aldehyde compounds. The hydrogenation of aldehyde compounds with Pd/GA at ambient H2 pressure is even comparable to those of Pd/NGA‐4 and commercial Pd/C with superaerophobic property at 6 bar H2 pressure. Such strategy is expected to find wide applications in many other catalytic reactions involving gases, and may lead to revolutionary change in fine chemical industry. It is proposed and demonstrated for the first time that creating superaerophilic surface is an efficient way to increase H2 partial pressure on catalyst surface, and thus significantly enhance the hydrogenation reaction rate in aqueous solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]