SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3913-3
The depletion of fossil resources necessitates the development of sustainable polymers from renewable feedstocks. Eugenol, a biomass-derived compound, serves as an ideal platform molecule due to its reactive allyl group and rigid aromatic scaffold. This study introduces a chiral Pd/Wei-Phos catalytic system for the helix-selective living polymerization of achiral eugenol-based diazo acetate monomer, delivering helical polycarbenes in high yield with controlled molecular weight (Mn), narrow dispersity (Đ), and optical activity. Post-polymerization functionalization was achieved via thiol-ene click chemistry, enabling efficient incorporation of diverse functional groups (carboxyl, ester, ketone, and diol) with high conversion (>99%). Additionally, an innovative pentaerythritol tetra(3-mercaptopropionic acid) (PETMP) cross-linked eugenol-based polycarbene system has been constructed. By controlling the polymerization degree and cross-linking density of the polymer, the mechanical properties (tensile strength can reach 15 MPa) of the cross-linked materials can be easily adjusted. Moreover, the cross-linked films exhibit excellent chiral separation ability and can be used for the enantioseparation of enantiomers of various chiral alcohols, with enantiomeric excess (ee) up to 96%. This not only contributes an innovative strategy for designing high-performance functional materials, but also provides inspiring ideas for the development of biomass-derived high-performance materials.
Journal of Fuel Chemistry and Technology•2026•DOI: 10.1016/S1872-5813(26)60752-9
Methanol steam reforming (MSR) is a pivotal process for efficient hydrogen production. This study employs density functional theory (DFT) calculations to comparatively analyze the MSR reaction mechanism on PdCu(111) and PtCu(111) bimetallic surfaces. The investigation unveils how alloying modulates reaction pathways and overall catalytic performance. Notably, Cu sites stabilize adsorption of OH and CH2O species, whereas Pd/Pt sites exhibit preferential affinity for CO. This spatial site separation facilitates progression along the formate pathway. PdCu(111) demonstrates superior overall catalytic performance compared to PtCu(111), with water dissociation identified as the rate-determining step (RDS), featuring an activation energy of only 0.74 eV. The bimetallic synergy breaks the inherent contradiction between activity and selectivity of monometallic catalysts: Cu sites serve as a source of hydroxyl groups, while Pd/Pt sites enhance C–H bond cleavage efficiency, ultimately enabling high methanol conversion alongside low CO formation. From the perspectives of electronic structure and geometric configuration, this study establishes a theoretical framework to guide rational design of high-performance bimetallic catalysts for MSR.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4101-5
Single-atom catalysts (SACs) represent a frontier in catalytic science, offering theoretically 100% atom utilization, tunable electronic structures, and coordination microenvironments, with broad prospects in energy conversion and high-end chemical synthesis. However, atomic-scale challenges—disordered active site distribution, constrained electronic structures, metal atom agglomeration, limited loading capacity, and insufficient coordination environment precision—severely restrict performance optimization and practical deployment. This review systematically analyzes the mechanistic interconnections among these challenges, framing them as a multi-level, coupled systemic problem rather than isolated issues. It summarizes recent regulation strategies including support engineering, coordination regulation, spatial confinement, and dynamic synthesis, emphasizing the value of multi-strategy synergy for performance breakthroughs. Future research directions include developing in-situ characterization with high spatial and temporal resolution, exploring multi-site synergistic catalytic mechanisms, and constructing standardized databases and rational design platforms. These efforts aim to enable large-scale advances in clean energy and green chemical processes.