System Chemistry in Catalysis: Facing the Next Challenges in Production of Energy Vectors and Environmental Remediation

Most of the catalytic processes that assist the production of either renewable energy vectors
or degradation of environmental pollutants rely on the interplay among different factors that can
be purposely regulated, in order to improve the overall efficiency of reactions. This perspective
analyzes some recent examples of ‘systemic catalysts’, which are based on the modification of the
reaction microenvironment and exploitation of concurrent/parasitic reactions or different types of
chemical looping, in order to bypass some drawbacks that cannot be easily circumvented by standard
approaches. Innovative extensions of those concepts and strategies might inspire new breakthroughs
in a variety of key catalytic cycles characterized by high complexity.