Scilight Press

Sustainable Catalysis (SC) publishes innovative and high-impact research on the design, understanding, and application of catalytic systems that enable sustainable chemical transformations. The journal focuses on catalysis-driven solutions addressing global challenges in energy, environment, resource efficiency, and circularity, bridging fundamental catalytic science with scalable and real-world applications.

The journal provides an interdisciplinary platform for chemists, materials scientists, chemical engineers, and environmental scientists working on catalytic processes that reduce environmental impact, enable renewable feedstocks, minimize waste, and lower carbon emissions. Contributions integrating experimental, theoretical, computational, techno-economic, and life-cycle perspectives are strongly encouraged. SC is published quarterly online by Scilight Press.

Core Scope Areas

• Catalyst Design and Mechanistic Understanding

Rational design of homogeneous, heterogeneous, biocatalytic, electrocatalytic, photocatalytic, and single-atom catalysts; structure-activity relationships; operando and in situ studies; reaction mechanisms; and catalyst stability and deactivation.

• Sustainable Synthesis and Catalytic Transformation

Catalytic routes for solvent-free and low-energy reactions; atom-efficient and selective transformations; biomass-derived feedstock conversion into platform chemicals (e.g., HMF, furfural, alcohols, amines, diols); and catalytic upgrading of renewable intermediates.

• Renewable Feedstocks and Carbon Utilization

Catalytic biomass valorization, CO₂ capture and conversion, catalytic hydrogenation and oxidation reactions, and integration of renewable carbon sources into chemical production.

• Electrocatalysis and Photocatalysis for Energy Conversion

Catalysis for water splitting, CO₂ reduction, nitrogen fixation, solar-to-fuel conversion, and photo- and electro-driven reaction systems enabling sustainable energy storage and utilization.

• Circular Economy and Catalytic Recycling

Catalytic depolymerization and upcycling of plastics, catalytic recovery of critical metals from waste streams, waste-to-value catalytic processes, and closed-loop catalytic systems supporting circular chemical pathways.

• Environmental Catalysis and Remediation

Catalytic degradation of pollutants, advanced oxidation processes, photocatalytic and electrocatalytic water and air purification, and catalytic treatment of emerging contaminants.

• Industrial Catalysis and Process Intensification

Catalytic technologies for low-carbon chemical manufacturing, catalyst-enabled CCUS strategies, process intensification, reactor design, and scale-up of sustainable catalytic processes for industrial implementation.

• Sustainability Assessment of Catalytic Technologies

Techno-economic analysis (TEA), life-cycle assessment (LCA), catalytic performance metrics, and system-level evaluation of catalytic processes supporting sustainable deployment.

• Advanced Characterization and Data-Driven Catalysis

Operando spectroscopy, microscopy, and scattering techniques; high-throughput experimentation; machine learning and data-driven approaches for catalyst discovery and optimization.

These topics represent the core focus areas of Sustainable Catalysis, but are not exhaustive. The journal welcomes emerging and interdisciplinary contributions where catalysis plays a central role in enabling sustainable chemical transformations. By connecting fundamental catalysis, applied research, industrial practice, and system-level assessment, Sustainable Catalysis aims to drive transformative advances toward a low-carbon and resource-efficient chemical future.