Catalytic solids in the spotlight : Detailed insight into the working principles of heterogeneous catalysts is essential for the design of improved or totally new ones. Such insight can be provided by making use of chemical imaging techniques, which yield spatiotemporal information about the workings of catalytic solids at different length scales: at the level of reactors, catalyst bodies, catalyst grains, and nanoparticles.
Looks matter: Generally, the morphology of titania thin films is crucial for their performance, hence much effort is spent to tailor the desired morphology. X‐ray scattering enables the monitoring of the crystalline titania layer morphology during build‐up of the functional multilayer stack (see Figure). Herein evidence is provided that the morphology is preserved throughout the fabrication process.
Work‐alcoholic! The elusive enantioselective catalytic α‐alkylation of aldehydes, a widely sought transformation, was brought to execution by the use of alcohols capable of forming stabilized carbocations (see scheme, TFA=trifluoroacetic acid).
One step at a time : The in situ monitoring of the step‐by‐step formation of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) by using surface plasmon resonance (SPR), allows the nucleation process and the formation of the secondary building units to be investigated. Growth rates on functionalized organic surfaces with different crystallographic orientations can also be studied.
