Mechanochemical synthesis emerged as the most advantageous, environmentally sound alternative to traditional routes for nanomaterials preparation with outstanding properties for advanced applications. Featuring simplicity, high reproducibility, mild/short reaction conditions and often solvent-free condition (dry milling), mechanochemistry can offer remarkable possibilities in the development of advanced catalytically active materials. The proposed contribution has been aimed to provide a brief account of remarkable recent findings and advances in the mechanochemical synthesis of solid phase advanced catalysts as opposed to conventional systems. The role of mechanical energy in the synthesis of solid catalysts and their application is critically discussed as well as the influence of the synthesis procedure on the physicochemical properties and the efficiency of synthesized catalysts is studied. The main purpose of this feature article is to highlight the possibilities of mechanochemical protocols in (nano)materials engineering for catalytic applications.

Novel biomass‐derived porous carbons are attractive candidates for the preparation of carbon‐supported catalysts with a wide range of catalytic applications. Such carbonaceous catalysts are environmentally benign and could provide a cost‐competitive advantage as compared to existing heterogeneous catalysts. Tunable surface properties of carbon materials and excellent physical properties (e.g., hydrophobicity, chemically inert nature, etc.) are compatible with diverse catalysis reactions including organic transformations, as well as electro‐ and photochemical processes in aqueous solutions. This contribution provides an overview on the utilization of different biomass feedstocks and/or biomass‐derived precursors for the synthesis of carbonaceous materials to design advanced catalytic systems and their emerging applications in catalysis.

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Mesoporous silica, which shows well-defined pore systems, tunable pore diameters (2-30 nm), narrow pore size distributions and high surface areas (>600 m(2) g(-1)), is frequently modified using different methodologies (including in situ and post-synthetic strategies) to introduce various chemical functionalities useful in applications like catalysis, separation, drug delivery, and sensing. This contribution aims to provide a critical overview of the various strategies to incorporate chemical functionalities in mesoporous silica highlighting the advantages of the in situ methods based on the bottom-up construction of mesoporous silica containing various chemical functionalities in its structure.