Since the start of last century, methanol synthesis has attracted great interests because of its importance in chemical industries and its potential as an environmentally friendly energy carrier. The catalyst for the methanol synthesis has been a key area of research in order to optimize the reaction process. In the literature, the nature of the active site and the effects of the promoter and support have been extensively investigated. In this updated review, the recent progresses in the catalyst innovation, optimization of the reaction conditions, reaction mechanism, and catalyst performance in methanol synthesis are comprehensively discussed. Key issues of catalyst improvement are highlighted, and areas of priority in R&D are identified in the conclusions.

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Great efforts have been made to convert renewable biomass into transportation fuels. Herein, we report the novel properties of NbO(x)-based catalysts in the hydrodeoxygenation of furan-derived adducts to liquid alkanes. Excellent activity and stability were observed with almost no decrease in octane yield (>90% throughout) in a 256 h time-on-stream test. Experimental and theoretical studies showed that NbO(x) species play the key role in C-O bond cleavage. As a multifunctional catalyst, Pd/NbOPO4 plays three roles in the conversion of aldol adducts into alkanes: 1) The noble metal (in this case Pd) is the active center for hydrogenation; 2) NbO(x) species help to cleave the C-O bond, especially of the tetrahydrofuran ring; and 3) a niobium-based solid acid catalyzes the dehydration, thus enabling the quantitative conversion of furan-derived adducts into alkanes under mild conditions.

A new strategy was developed for the direct conversion of furfural to 1,5-pentanediol by the hydrogenolysis of the furan ring under mild conditions based on Pt/Co(2)AlO(4) catalyst. This is the first report of the direct catalytic conversion of furfural to 1,5-pentanediol with high yield.

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Co3O4 supported on TiO2 (anatase (A), rutile (R) and P25 (Degussa)) catalysts were prepared by a deposition–precipitation method. Co3O4/TiO2 (A) shows excellent activity for CO oxidation with 100% conversion at −43 °C.

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