Abstract
Metal nanoparticle catalysts can undergo dynamic structural changes within chemical environments. Reaction processes and reactors are often designed to accommodate or exploit these changes to achieve desired performance targets. Consequently, controlling dynamic structural changes can lead to upgrading of reactors and reaction processes. This Perspective summarizes the characteristic dynamic behaviors of supported metal catalysts and their corresponding reactors in current industrial processes. We explore recent advancements in the programmable changes of metal catalysts by controlling reaction environments and metal–support interactions. These techniques offer avenues for upgrading reactors and reaction routes, aiming to improve efficiency and simplify production processes. The need to upgrade existing reactors also raises demands for managing catalyst dynamic structural changes. This Perspective emphasizes the importance of connecting atomic-scale changes in catalyst structure with industrial-scale reactions and reactors, which will advance research in catalysis and reaction engineering.
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Acknowledgements
We acknowledge support by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2022YFA1503502), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (22288101 and 22241801), the Zhejiang Provincial Basic Public Welfare Project (LD24E030003) and Qizhen Funding of Zhejiang University (226-2023-00035, Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities).
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H. Wang and L.W. conceived the concept of this paper. Y.W., Q.L. and H. Wu provided helpful discussions. All authors participated in preparing the paper. F.-S.X. and L.W. supervised the project.
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Wang, H., Wu, Y., Luo, Q. et al. Managing dynamic catalyst changes to upgrade reactors and reaction processes. Nat Chem Eng 2, 169–180 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44286-025-00199-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s44286-025-00199-6
