Recent advances and perspective on heterogeneous catalysis using metals and oxide nanocrystals

Inorganic nanomaterials are widely used in heterogenous catalysis. With the development of nanoscience and nanotechnology, chemists can precisely control the size, morphology, and exposed facets of nanocrystals (NCs) in an elegant manner, further tailoring their catalytic performance towards diverse reactions. In this review, we focus on the design principles of high-performance catalysts using metal NCs and oxide NCs. Special attention is paid to the shape control and surface engineering of NCs. Some practically important heterogeneous catalytic reactions over nanocatalysts will be discussed. Finally, an outlook and perspective in nano-catalysis will be provided. The goal of this review is to discuss recent advances and perspective on heterogeneous catalysis using inorganic nanomaterials and motivate researchers to design efficient catalysts with high activity, selectivity and stability.