Catalysis at room temperature: perspectives for future green chemical processes

Catalytic processes have been one of the main pillars of the chemical industry in recent years. Protocols that make use of homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts have been extensively implemented for the production of fine chemicals, fuels, materials, and relevant products. Importantly, the need for benign by design processes and technologies became recently a major driver in both research and industry for a more sustainable future. This contribution has been aimed to discuss and highlight key examples on room temperature catalytic processes as one of the most relevant research avenues for future developments in catalysis. WIREs Energy Environ 2015, 4:316–338. doi: 10.1002/wene.141 This article is categorized under: Bioenergy > Systems and Infrastructure Energy Efficiency > Science and Materials Energy Research & Innovation > Science and Materials