multicatalytic

Multicatalytic describes catalytic systems that combine two or more distinct catalytic functions within a single material or process, enabling multiple transformations to occur in one operation. It covers tandem or cooperative catalysis, in which different active sites perform sequential steps, and materials that host diverse sites such as bifunctional acid–base or metal–organocatalytic centers embedded in one framework or on a common support.

Implementations include immobilized homogeneous catalysts on solids, core–shell nanoparticles with complementary activities, and porous solids like metal–organic frameworks or zeolites bearing multiple sites. Successful design emphasizes compatible reaction conditions, controlled spatial organization, and durable interfaces that preserve each site’s activity. Multicatalytic systems aim to improve atom economy, reduce isolation steps, and enable cascade reactions where the product of one step is immediately transformed in the next.

Benefits include higher selectivity and process intensification, while challenges involve avoiding mutual deactivation, leaching, diffusion limitations, and catalyst deactivation. Research focuses on tuning site distribution, pore architecture, and advanced characterization to monitor function in situ. Applications span biomass upgrading, fine-chemical and pharmaceutical synthesis, and energy-related catalysis, where tandem steps such as degradation, rearrangement, and hydrogenation can occur in a single reactor.