In order to achieve an economical CO2-mediated hydrogen energy cycle, the development of heterogeneous catalysts for CO2 hydrogenation to formic acid is an urgent and challenging task. In this study, a stable and well-defined single-site Ru catalyst on the surface of a layered double hydroxide (LDH) in a basic medium is proven to be efficient for selective hydrogenation of CO2 to formic acid under mild reaction conditions (2.0 MPa, 100 °C). The electron-donating ability of triads of basic hydroxyl ligands with a particular location is crucial for an active electron-rich Ru center. There is a strong correlation between catalytic activity and adjustable CO2 adsorption capacity in the vicinity of the Ru center. Such electronic metal–support interactions and a CO2 concentration effect result in a significant positive influence on the catalytic activity.

Bimetallic FeNi nanoparticles supported on CeO2 was proven to be effective for hydrogen production from ammonia–borane (NH3–BH3) as a noble‐metal‐free catalyst. Impregnation of iron and nickel ions with the CeO2 surface followed by in situ reduction with NaBH4 prior to catalytic dehydrogenation of AB produced highly dispersed and partially oxidized amorphous FeNi NPs stabilized by strong interaction with the CeO2 support by NiOCe and FeOCe bonding. Investigation of the influence of the Fe/Ni ratio revealed a volcano‐shaped relationship with a maximum at Fe/Ni=1. FeNi/CeO2 was further applicable to dehydrogenation from dimethylamine–borane ((CH3)2NHBH3). The advantages of this catalytic system, such as the facile preparation method, free of noble metals, and high recyclability, with easy recovery from the reaction mixture by application of an external magnet, are particularly desirable for a hydrogen vector in terms of potential industrial application in fuel cells.

The front cover artwork for Issue 08/2015 is provided by the research group of Division of Materials and Manufacturing Science, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University (Japan). The image shows hydrogen production from an aqueous solution of ammonia–borane (NH3–BH3, AB) by bimetallic Fe–Ni nanoparticles supported on CeO2. See the Full Paper itself at http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/cctc.201500101.

The cover pictures hows effective hydrogen production from an aqueous solution of ammonia-borane (NH 3 -BH 3 ,A B) by bimetallic FeNi nanoparticles supported on CeO 2 .I n their Full Paper,K .M ori, T. Ta ga, and H. Yamashita show highly dispersed and partially oxidizeda morphous FeNi NPs stabilized by strong interaction with the CeO 2 is active for the catalytic dehydrogenation of AB. The advantages of this catalytic system,s uch as the facile preparation method, free of noble metals,a nd high recyclability are particularly desirable for ah ydrogen vector in terms of potentiali ndustrial application in fuel cells.The article highlighted by this cover can be found on p. 1285 ff.o fI ssue 8, 2015.