Chemical transformations or organic syntheses via homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis account for 90% of current chemical processes and 60% of available chemical products. Traditional catalytic pathways typically relying upon mono-catalysis strategies have been demonstrated to be useful in various conversion processes over many decades, but they may fail to deliver the desired results when dealing with complex target molecules (e.g. biopolymers and macromolecules) and multi-step transformations. In relation to this, the appropriate design of functional catalytic materials and the development of one-pot integrated multi-catalytic processes can not only circumvent the time and yield losses without resorting to isolation and purification of intermediates but also improve atom-economy and significantly eliminate in situ formation of harmful intermediate species under environmentally-friendly conditions for the manufacture of fine chemicals.

Biomass and other renewable or waste sources have been developed as promising feedstocks for the production of various high-value chemicals and biofuels. Owing to the oxygen-rich features of these sources, the yielded products are typically functionalized with oxygen-containing species such as hydroxy, ether, carbonyl, carboxyl, and ester groups, which significantly enrich the product variety but also greatly increase the difficulty in the control of product selectivity, accompanying many economic and environmental issues. On the other hand, along with the overuse of fossil fuels, the high-temperature combustion and upgrading of plants/wastes are emitting pollutant gases (e.g., NOx, SO2, and CO2) and heavy metals into the atmosphere. Especially, many heavy metals are deposited on the surface soil, and several of them (e.g. Hg, As, Se, Cd, and Pb) can exist in the more harmful gaseous phase. To overcome these barriers, there should be a special emphasis on the establishment of appropriate functional materials with controllable functionalities and fitting catalytic processes.

This Special Issue intends to highlight current progress on the development of advanced catalysis and synthesis strategies for sustainable and environmental processes. Manuscripts submitted should present novel approaches and recent advances in the application of new and green technologies and functional materials to accomplish biomass valorization, environmental protection, and other relevant research fields. Original research and review articles are welcome.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Synthesis and applications of biomass-derived platform molecules and biofuels
• Conversion routes and reactions developed for the upgrading of biomass sources
• Design of functional catalytic materials for sustainable and environmental processes
• Catalytic strategies and reaction engineering for biorefinery
• Interaction of heavy metals in earth-water-sediment systems
• Sustainable adsorbents for the removal of pollutants from soil, water, and wastewater
• The atmosphere and hydrosphere for sustainable and environmental themes
• Environmental prediction for socially sustainable development