Wenju Wang

Bio: Wenju Wang is an academic researcher from Nanjing University of Science and Technology. The author has contributed to research in topics: Catalysis & Chemical looping combustion. The author has an hindex of 21, co-authored 97 publications receiving 1380 citations. Previous affiliations of Wenju Wang include Hong Kong University of Science and Technology & Tianjin University.

Nonradical activation of peroxydisulfate promoted by oxygen vacancy-laden NiO for catalytic phenol oxidative polymerization

Abstract: Engineering the electronic properties of catalysts to facilitate electron transfer and activation of dynamically stable peroxydisulfate (PDS) offers a promising strategy for efficient remediation of recalcitrant organic pollutants through heterogeneous Fenton-like processes, but also presents challenges due to a lack of facile methods. Herein, we highlight a simple defect engineering strategy that greatly increases the efficiency of PDS adsorption and activation by introducing oxygen vacancies (VO) into NiO to produce an electron-rich surface. Experimental studies and density functional theory (DFT) calculations confirmed that VO confined in NiO could successfully cause synergetic effects of lower adsorption energy and more exposed active sites, thus facilitating the bonding with PDS molecules and promoting the reactivity of PDS-NiO complex, giving rise to dramatic enhancement of catalytic performance with removal rate as high as 3.978 mmol(phenol) min−1 g(NiO)−1. Mechanistic studies further reveal that the surface-activated PDS-NiO complex mediate oxidative polymerization of phenol (a model pollutant) involved in the generation of phenoxyl radicals and subsequent coupling reactions, providing the potential to convert recalcitrant organic pollutants into value-added products. This work may pave the way toward practical fabrication of highly efficient “defect-type” Fenton-like catalysts, and the present method also provides new opportunities to achieve sustainable wastewater treatment through reuse of organic pollutants.

Carbon capture and conversion using metal–organic frameworks and MOF-based materials

Abstract: Rapidly increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations threaten human society, the natural environment, and the synergy between the two. In order to ameliorate the CO2 problem, carbon capture and conversion techniques have been proposed. Metal–organic framework (MOF)-based materials, a relatively new class of porous materials with unique structural features, high surface areas, chemical tunability and stability, have been extensively studied with respect to their applicability to such techniques. Recently, it has become apparent that the CO2 capture capabilities of MOF-based materials significantly boost their potential toward CO2 conversion. Furthermore, MOF-based materials’ well-defined structures greatly facilitate the understanding of structure–property relationships and their roles in CO2 capture and conversion. In this review, we provide a comprehensive account of significant progress in the design and synthesis of MOF-based materials, including MOFs, MOF composites and MOF derivatives, and their application to carbon capture and conversion. Special emphases on the relationships between CO2 capture capacities of MOF-based materials and their catalytic CO2 conversion performances are discussed.

State of the Art and Prospects in Metal-Organic Framework (MOF)-Based and MOF-Derived Nanocatalysis.

Abstract: Metal-organic framework (MOF) nanoparticles, also called porous coordination polymers, are a major part of nanomaterials science, and their role in catalysis is becoming central. The extraordinary variability and richness of their structures afford engineering synergies between the metal nodes, functional linkers, encapsulated substrates, or nanoparticles for multiple and selective heterogeneous interactions and activations in these MOF-based nanocatalysts. Pyrolysis of MOF-nanoparticle composites forms highly porous N- or P-doped graphitized MOF-derived nanomaterials that are increasingly used as efficient catalysts especially in electro- and photocatalysis. This review first briefly summarizes this background of MOF nanoparticle catalysis and then comprehensively reviews the fast-growing literature reported during the last years. The major parts are catalysis of organic and molecular reactions, electrocatalysis, photocatalysis, and views of prospects. Major challenges of our society are addressed using these well-defined heterogeneous catalysts in the fields of synthesis, energy, and environment. In spite of the many achievements, enormous progress is still necessary to improve our understanding of the processes involved beyond the proof-of-concept, particularly for selective methane oxidation, hydrogen production, water splitting, CO2 reduction to methanol, nitrogen fixation, and water depollution.

Glycerol production and its applications as a raw material: A review

Abstract: Glycerol is a valuable byproduct in biodiesel production by transesterification, soap manufacturing by saponification as well as hydrolysis reaction. The purity of glycerol obtained is low due to the presence of impurities such as remaining catalyst, water, soaps, salts and esters formed during the reaction. Purification of glycerol as well as the conversion of glycerol into valuable products has attained growing interest in recent years due to the dramatic growth of the biodiesel industry. This paper reviews different methods of producing crude glycerol as the major by-product. Purification of glycerol was reported as well as value-added products produced from glycerol.

Status and prospects in higher alcohols synthesis from syngas

Abstract: Higher alcohols are important compounds with widespread applications in the chemical, pharmaceutical and energy sectors. Currently, they are mainly produced by sugar fermentation (ethanol and isobutanol) or hydration of petroleum-derived alkenes (heavier alcohols), but their direct synthesis from syngas (CO + H2) would comprise a more environmentally-friendly, versatile and economical alternative. Research efforts in this reaction, initiated in the 1930s, have fluctuated along with the oil price and have considerably increased in the last decade due to the interest to exploit shale gas and renewable resources to obtain the gaseous feedstock. Nevertheless, no catalytic system reported to date has performed sufficiently well to justify an industrial implementation. Since the design of an efficient catalyst would strongly benefit from the establishment of synthesis–structure–function relationships and a deeper understanding of the reaction mechanism, this review comprehensively overviews syngas-based higher alcohols synthesis in three main sections, highlighting the advances recently made and the challenges that remain open and stimulate upcoming research activities. The first part critically summarises the formulations and methods applied in the preparation of the four main classes of materials, i.e., Rh-based, Mo-based, modified Fischer–Tropsch and modified methanol synthesis catalysts. The second overviews the molecular-level insights derived from microkinetic and theoretical studies, drawing links to the mechanisms of Fischer–Tropsch and methanol syntheses. Finally, concepts proposed to improve the efficiency of reactors and separation units as well as to utilise CO2 and recycle side-products in the process are described in the third section.