In this review, the applications of molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) materials in the area of electrochemical sensors have been explored. The designs of the MIPs containing different polymers, their preparation and their immobilization on the transducer surface have been discussed. Further, the employment of various transducers containing the MIPs based on different electrochemical techniques for determining analytes has been assessed. In addition, the general protocols for getting the electrochemical signal based on the binding ability of analyte with the MIPs have been given. The review ends with describing scope and limitations of the above electrochemical based MIP sensors.

methanol is an important platform molecule for chemical synthesis and its high energy density also renders it a good candidate as a cleaner transportation fuel. At present, methanol is manufactured from natural gas via the indirect syn-gas route. Here we show that ethylene glycol, a versatile chemical derived from biomass or fossil fuels, can be directly converted to methanol in hydrogen with high selectivity over a Pd/Fe 2 o 3 co-precipitated catalyst. This opens up a possibility for diversification in natural resources for energy-starved countries. The working catalyst contains extremely small 'PdFe' clusters and metal adatoms on defective iron oxide to give the required metal-support interaction for the novel synthesis.

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A series of supported PdFe bimetallic nanoparticles with variable compositions are successfully synthesized through a careful reduction of a PdO/FeOx complex with a tunable support structure, which are demonstrated to achieve ultraselective C–C bond cleavage over C–O bond of vicinal diols.

There is tremendous growing interest in utilizing biomass molecules for energy provision due to their carbon neutrality. Here, we employ ethylene glycol as a model compound for catalytic activation, which represents a basic unit for complex carbohydrate molecules (polyols). In this paper, hydrogenolysis of ethylene glycol to produce methanol in hydrogen over modified RANEY® Ni and Cu catalysts has been studied. This work provides essential information that may leads to the development of new catalysts for carbohydrate activation to methanol, a novel but important reaction concerning biomass conversion to transportable form of energy. Particularly, in this study, modification of electronic structure hence adsorption properties of RANEY® catalysts has mainly been achieved by blending with second metal(s). It is found that the activity and selectivity of this reaction can be significantly affected by this approach. In contrast, there is no subtle effect on methanol selectivity despite a great variation in the d-band centre position which shows a distinctive effect on other products. This result suggests that methanol is produced on specific surface sites independent from the other sites at an intrinsic rate and will not be converted to other products by the d-band alteration.