Advanced nanomaterials for catalysis: Current progress in fine chemical synthesis, hydrocarbon processing, and renewable energy

[Display omitted] •Recent advancement of nanomaterials for catalysis application.•Nanocatalysts for fine chemical synthesis, hydrogen processing, and renewable energy.•Fundamental aspects of the mechanism, activity, and selectivity of the nanocatalysts.•Challenges and future outlook for large-scale industrial applications. The application of advanced nanomaterials for catalysis has attracted much attention as it offers many benefits due to their unique physicochemical properties. Nevertheless, the utilization of these nanomaterials for scalable industrial applications is still challenging, partly due to the lack of understanding in their catalytic mechanism. This review serves to highlight current progress on the application of nanomaterials for catalysis applications, specifically in fine chemical synthesis, hydrocarbon processing, and renewable energy. Here, the performance of different types of nanomaterials in various reactions is summarized. Besides, comprehensive discussions of their catalytic mechanism are also provided. Furthermore, several challenges and future outlook for the application of nanomaterials in the catalysis industry are also presented. In most cases, noble metal-based nanomaterials such as Pd, Pt, and Au, were still considered as one of the most active catalysts in various industrial processes. Nevertheless, the most recent progress suggested that there are still tremendous opportunities and prospects in developing different nanocatalysts based on earth-abundant elements. It is also identified that several techniques, such as heterostructuring, functionalization, and doping, were proven to be able to enhance the catalytic activity of the nanomaterials.