Advanced Catalysis for Renewable Carbon Conversion: Part 1

The sustainable chemical manufacturing requires transformative advances in catalytic processes that enable the efficient conversion of renewable carbon sources such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and biomass-derived intermediates into fuels, chemicals, and materials. This symposium will bring together academic researchers, industrial scientists, and technology developers to discuss cutting-edge catalytic innovations and the collaborative frameworks needed to accelerate their deployment from laboratory to industry. The session will highlight multi-scale catalytic design strategies from atomic-level tuning of active sites and elucidation of dynamic reaction mechanisms to reactor engineering, process integration, and life-cycle assessment that guide sustainable implementation. Emphasis will be placed on the synergy between experimental discovery and computational insight, showcasing how theory, simulation, and data-driven modeling are accelerating catalyst innovation across scales. Topics will include, but are not limited to: Electrocatalysis, thermocatalysis, photocatalysis and their intersections for CO2 reduction and C-C coupling, including mechanistic studies of multi-electron and multi-proton transfer pathways; Heterogeneous and biocatalytic upgrading of biomass feedstocks, with attention to hybrid catalytic systems that merge biological selectivity and inorganic robustness; Computational catalysis, machine learning, and digital design frameworks for predicting active sites, optimizing reaction environments, and guiding experimental synthesis; Design and development of advanced catalyst materials and systems to improve durability, selectivity, and compatibility with renewable energy inputs; To reflect the rapidly evolving frontier of this field, this symposium will emphasize fundamental insights into catalytic reaction mechanisms, novel material architectures such as single-atom and high-entropy catalysts, and in situ/operando characterization coupled with computational modeling for predictive catalyst design. By integrating these emerging scientific advances with process intensification and sustainable engineering principles, the symposium aims to inspire next-generation solutions for circular carbon utilization.