Urea derivatives are valuable compounds widely used in agriculture, polymer and pharmaceuticals, yet their production relies on toxic phosgene and isocyanates. While CO₂ utilisation offers an alternative route, existing heterogeneous catalysts either depend on rare-earth elements or suffer from significant deactivation through metal leaching. This study reports the first application of CuO@SiO₂ core-shell catalysts for the synthesis of symmetrical urea derivatives — specifically N,N'-dibutylurea (DBU) — from CO₂ and butylamine. Reaction conditions were identified employing bulk CuO, identifying NMP as the solvent and establishing reaction parameters of 463 K, 5 MPa CO₂, and 20 mmol butylamine. Under these conditions, CuO achieved a 45% DBU yield after 2 h, but exhibited severe copper leaching and poor recyclability. A series of CuO@SiO₂ core-shell catalysts were synthesised via a sol-gel method using CTAB. Characterisation by FTIR, XRD, SEM-EDS, and TEM confirmed successful encapsulation of CuO nanoparticles within a 50–100 nm silica shell. The 20 mol% CuO@SiO₂ catalyst delivered a 44% DBU yield at 2 h (55% at 4 h) whilst reducing copper leaching by 40%. Performance benchmarking demonstrates that this Earth-abundant, leach-resistant catalyst is competitive with manganese, yttrium, and nickel-based catalysts. These findings establish CuO@SiO₂ core-shell materials as promising, sustainable catalysts for CO₂ valorisation.

The commercialization of direct ethanol fuel cells (DEFCs) is hindered by platinum dependency, catalyst degradation, and high costs. This work addresses these challenges by developing carbon-supported trimetallic PdAuM/C (M = Rh, Ir, Ag) electrocatalysts for the ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR). Through a controlled synthesis protocol, PdAuM/C nanoparticles (3.1-6.7 nm) with alloyed structures were characterized by XRD, TEM, EDX, and XPS. Electrochemical analyses (CV, CA, EIS) in alkaline media revealed unprecedented EOR activity: PdAuRh/C achieved a peak current density of 10,500 mA·mg⁻¹Pd and onset potential of - 680 mV vs. NHE-5.8× higher current and 195 mV lower overpotential than monometallic Pd/C (1,800 mA·mg⁻¹Pd, - 485 mV). PdAuIr/C and PdAuAg/C also outperformed Pd/C, though PdAuAg exhibited a typical dual oxidation peaks. The synergistic electronic effects in PdAuRh/C minimized CO poisoning and maximized active sites, positioning it as a sustainable, high-performance alternative to Pt-based catalysts for DEFCs.

This work has demonstrated improved conversion and selectivity and reduced coking in the alkylation of toluene with hept-1-ene to linear alkyl methyl benzenes over onto H-beta (Si/Al = 367), desilicated H-beta (Si/Al = 231) and dealuminated H-beta (Si/Al = 563) zeolite catalysts. Additionally, kinetic modelling provided support for the proposed reaction mechanism, facilitating the design of improved catalysts for this reaction. The production of linear alkyl methyl benzenes is of critical import in the manufacture of detergents, a rapidly growing sector globally, however currently processes are limited by catalyst deactivation as a result of coke deposition. The properties of the parent and modified catalysts were analysed using XRD, FTIR, SEM, ICP-AES, TGA, and BET surface area. The results indicate that both types of catalysts whose structural framework was modified via acid or base leaching treatment techniques had improved catalytic activity, leading to an enhancement in the conversion and selectivity towards double-bond isomerisation and alkylation products. In addition, the experimental results were fitted using a reaction scheme consisting of seven components and thirteen reactions. Nonlinear optimization (genetic algorithm technique) with numerical integration (4th order Runge-Kutta) was utilized to predict the kinetic parameters, while Matlab 2021a software was used to perform all computation. The mean relative errors (MRE) values estimated from comparing experimental and model-predicted outcome data showed remarkable agreement.

This work reports preliminary-stage studies demonstrating the highly selective conversion of polypropylene to short-chained olefins via hydrothermal catalytic processing. The production of such monomer species from waste polymers is highly desirable and has the potential to play a key role in plastics recycling and in the circular economy more broadly. Addition polymers such as polypropylene are, however, known to be particularly challenging to recycle into propene or other short-chained alkenes. Herein, we have compared and contrasted acid- and base-catalysed hydrothermal processing at a temperature of 360 degrees C, analysing the products of reaction by gas chromatography - mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Employing the basic catalyst K2CO3, results in a 95 % yield of gas-phase products of which 52 % are propene and 9 % butenes on a mole basis. The solid acid catalyst HZSM-5 also selectively yields gaseous products, 21 % of which are propene and 22 % are butenes, the reaction proceeding via beta-scission of the starting oligomers. These results represent a potential step-change in the production of monomer units from addition polymers, highlighting the potential value of catalytic hydrothermal processing in the field of polymer recycling.

Direct ethanol fuel cells (DEFCs) need newly designed novel affordable catalysts for commercialization. Additionally, unlike bimetallic systems, trimetallic catalytic systems are not extensively investigated in terms of their catalytic potential toward redox reactions in fuel cells. Furthermore, the Rh potential to break the ethanol rigid C-C bond at low applied potentials, and therefore enhance the DEFC efficiency and CO2 yield, is controversial amongst researchers. In this work, two PdRhNi/C, Pd/C, Rh/C and Ni/C electrocatalysts are synthesized via a one-step impregnation process at ambient pressure and temperature. The catalysts are then applied for ethanol electrooxidation reaction (EOR). Electrochemical evaluation is performed using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronoamperometry (CA). Physiochemical characterization is pursued using X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Unlike Pd/C, the prepared Rh/C and Ni/C do not show any activity for (EOR). The followed protocol produces alloyed dispersed PdRhNi nanoparticles of 3 nm in size. However, the PdRhNi/C samples underperform the monometallic Pd/C, even though the Ni or Rh individual addition to it enhances its activity, as reported in the literature herein. The exact reasons for the low PdRhNi performance are not fully understood. However, a reasonable reference can be given about the lower Pd surface coverage on both PdRhNi samples according to the XPS and EDX results. Furthermore, adding both Rh and Ni to Pd exercises compressive strain on the Pd lattice, noted by the PdRhNi XRD peak shift to higher angles.

This work demonstrates novel in situ measurements of direct ethanol fuel cells (DEFCs), and shows that the syn-thesis procedure can exert a substantial influence over their activity, with exceptional activity demonstrated for a trimetallic PdAuNi/C catalyst prepared via NaBH4-2-propanol reduction (SBIPA). Furthermore, in situ Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy shows that the final ethanol electrooxidation reaction (EOR) over all catalysts investigated is acetate, thereby yielding valuable insights into the reaction mechanism. DEFCs present a sustainable net-zero technological solution which can supply diverse energy needs without increasing green-house gas (GHG) emissions. Ethanol can be produced from biomass precusors, and therefore its direct applica-tion in fuel cells can mitigate climate change and ensure environmental sustainability. In this work, PdAuNi/C catalysts are synthesized via three synthetic routes and applied in EOR. The catalysts are charachrterised via X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Their electrocatalytic performance is evaluated by cyclic voltam-metry (CV), chronoamperometry (CA), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). SBIPA exhibits excellent electrocatalytic results with an oxidation current peak of 9.6 A/mgPd. This is 4 times greater than that recorded for its monometallic counterpart prepared via the same procedure. It is, also, over twice as great as the other two trimetallic samples prepared by alternative protocols. Although adding Au and Ni to Pd signif-icantly enhances EOR activity, it does not increase the CO2 yield of EOR.

In this paper, the focus is on upgrading the value of naphtha compounds represented by n-heptane (n-C7H16) with zero octane number using a commercial zeolite catalyst consisting of a mixture of 75% HY and 25% HZSM-5 loaded with different amounts, 0.25 to 1 wt.%, of platinum metal. Hydrocracking and hydroisomerisation processes are experimentally and theoretically studied in the temperature range of 300–400 °C and under various contact times. A feedforward artificial neural network (FFANN) based on two hidden layers was used for the purpose of process modelling. A total of 80% of the experimental results was used to train the artificial neural network, with the remaining results being used for evaluation and testing of the network. Tan-sigmoid and log-sigmoid transfer functions were used in the first and second hidden layers, respectively. The optimum number of neurons in hidden layers was determined depending on minimising the mean absolute error (MAE). The best ANN model, represented by the multilayer FFANN, had a 4–24–24–12 topology. The ANN model accurately simulates the process in which the correlation coefficient (R2) was found to be 0.9918, 0.9492, and 0.9426 for training, validation, and testing, respectively, and an average of 0.9767 for all data. In addition, the operating conditions of the process were optimised using the genetic algorithm (GA) towards increasing the octane number of the products. MATLAB® Version 2020a was utilised to complete all required computations and predictions. Optimal operating conditions were found through the theoretical study: 0.85 wt.% Pt-metal loaded, 359.36 °C, 6.562 H2/n-heptane feed ratio, and 3.409 h−1 weight-hourly space velocity (WHSV), through which the maximum octane number (RON) of 106.84 was obtained. Finally, those operating conditions largely matched what was calculated from the results of the experimental study, where the highest percentage of the resulting isomers was found with about 78.7 mol% on the surface of the catalyst loaded with 0.75 wt.% Pt-metal at 350 °C using a feed ratio of 6.5 H2/n-C7 and WHSV of 2.98 h−1.

Coke formation inside heterogeneous reactors is an important industrial problem that leads to reduced catalyst efficiency. However, this study aims to prove the benefits of coke build-up in improving catalyst performance. The formation and decomposition of coke on six different zeolite structures was studied. The dissociation kinetic model of the spent catalysts during the toluene alkylation with 1-heptene inside a stainless-steel autoclave reactor at different temperatures was carried out. Various techniques (XRD, XRF, TPO, CHNS and TGA-DTG) were used. It was found that the conversion and selectivity of the desired product were higher on the parent H-mordenite and the dealuminated H-beta catalysts with conversions of 85.3% and 84.67%, respectively, at a 360 min reaction time. This was attributed to the reduction of the ratio of hard:soft coke. It is confirmed that the decomposition activation energies of hard coke, 140.1-202.6 kJ/mol, are much higher energies than those of soft coke, 89.9-118.7 kJ/mol. It is also noted that the hypothesis of pore mouth catalysis is dominated by non-polyaromatic coke on the surface of the H-beta catalysts, while the hypothesis is dominated by polyaromatic coke on the surface of the H-mordenite catalysts.

CO2 utilization by conversion into useful chemicals can contribute to facing the problem of increasing CO2 emissions. Among other alternatives, hydrothermal transformation stands out by the high conversions achieved, just using high-temperature water as the solvent. Previous works have demonstrated that several organic compounds with hydroxyl groups derived from biomass can be used as reductants of NaHCO3 aqueous solutions as inorganic CO2 sources. Formate was obtained as the main product as it was produced by conversion both of the inorganic carbon and of the organic reductants, whose transformation into formate was promoted by the addition of NaHCO3. Based on these results, in this work, the hydrothermal conversion of NaHCO3 is performed together with the liquefaction of lignocellulosic biomass (sugarcane bagasse and pine needles) in a one-pot process. Results show that yields to formate of 10% wt/wt (with respect to the initial concentration of biomass) are achieved by hydrothermal treatment of NaHCO3 and lignocellulosic biomass at 250 °C with a residence time of 180 min. Other products, such as acetic acid and lactic acid, were also obtained. These results demonstrate the feasibility of the hydrothermal reduction of CO2 combined with the hydrothermal liquefaction of residual biomass in a simultaneous process.

The dehydrogenation of alkane feedstock to produce alkenes is a significant and energy intensive industrial process, generally occurring on metals and metal oxides. Here, we investigate a catalytic mechanism for the dehydrogenation of butane on single-layer, metal-free graphene using a combination of ab initio quantum chemical calculations and adsorption microcalorimetry. Dispersion-corrected Density Functional Theory (DFT) is employed to calculate transition states and energy minima that describe the reaction pathways connecting butane to the two possible products, but-1-ene and but-2-ene. The deprotonations occur with moderate energy barriers in the 0.54 eV-0.69 eV range. A strong agreement is observed between the results of the adsorption energies calculated by DFT (0.40 eV) and the measured differential heat of adsorption of n-butane on a graphitic overlayer. We conclude that the active-site for this catalytic reaction is a metal-free graphene vacancy, created by removing a carbon atom from a single-layer graphene sheet.

The liquid-phase hydrogenation of cinnamaldehyde over a Pt/SiO2 catalyst was investigated experimentally and theoretically. The experiments were conducted in a 300 cm3 stainless steel stirred batch reactor supplied with hydrogen gas and ethanol as a solvent. Five Langmuir–Hinshelwood kinetic models were investigated to fit the experimental data. The predictions from the bulk model were compared with predictions from the intraparticle diffusion model. Competitive and non-competitive mechanisms were applied to produce the main intermediate compound, cinnamyl alcohol. Reaction rate parameters for the different reaction steps were calculated by comparing between the experimental and mathematical models. All rate data utilized in the present study were obtained in the kinetic regime. The kinetic parameters were obtained by applying a nonlinear dynamic optimization algorithm. Nevertheless, the comparison between the methodology of the present model and these five models indicated that the non-competitive mechanism is more acceptable and identical with the single-site Langmuir–Hinshelwood kinetic model including mass transfer effects and it mimicked the reactant behavior better than the other models. In addition, the observed mean absolute error (MAE) for the non-competitive mechanism of the present model was 2.3022 mol/m3; however, the MAE for the competitive mechanism was 2.8233 mol/m3, which is an increase of approximately 18%. The prediction of the intraparticle diffusion model was found to be very close to that of the bulk model owing to the use of a catalyst with a very small particle size (<40 microns). Employing a commercial 5% Pt/SiO2 catalyst showed a result consistent with previous research using different catalysts, with an activation energy of ≈24 kJ/mol.

The synthesis of value-added organic products from the hydrothermal conversion of CO 2 and H 2 O has been demonstrated, revealing the impact that reaction conditions have on the product distribution and yield. CO 2 has the potential to become a valuable feedstock for the chemicals sector, in part displacing fossil resources and improving the economics of carbon capture. Herein the conversion of CO 2 with H 2 O, in the absence of gas-phase H 2 , to methanol and other products is shown to occur under sub-critical water conditions in the presence of iron as a reductant and catalyst: this process can be considered as a form of “reverse combustion”. The influence of reaction temperature between 200–350°C and CO 2 :O 2 mole ratio from 9 to 119 (in addition to pure 100% CO 2 ) have been investigated in the presence of Fe powder. The influence of reaction time has also been investigated, employing Fe 3 O 4 as a catalyst. Product analysis is conducted by GC-MS and MS for liquid- and gas-phase products respectively, while SEM and XRD are employed to analyse morphological changes in the catalyst and TPO investigates any coke deposited during reaction. Methanol is the major product formed at all conditions investigated, with a maximum concentration of 8 mmol L −1 after 12 h of reaction, or after 4 h in the presence of oxygen. Acetone and ethanol are also formed, although in smaller quantities than methanol, with larger-chained species also present. An inverse relationship is observed between acetone and ethanol concentrations. Based on the analysis of the reaction data it is hypothesized that ethanol and acetone may be competitively produced in one reaction pathway, while methanol is produced in an independent, parallel, pathway. The observation of acetaldehyde in the gas-phase at all studied conditions suggests that acetone may be produced from the dehydrogenation of ethanol via an acetaldehyde intermediate; catalyzed by zero-valent iron sites. Morphological characterization indicates that the catalysts are stable under the reaction conditions. These studies facilitate the development of improved catalysts and processes for the hydrothermal conversion of CO 2 , allowing further development of this promising sustainable process.

Direct ethanol fuel cells (DEFCs) have shown a high potential to supply energy and contribute to saving the climate due to their bioethanol sustainability and carbon neutrality. Nonetheless, there is a consistent need to develop new catalyst electrodes that are active for the ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR). In this work, two C-supported PdIrNi catalysts, that have been reported only once, are prepared via a facile NaBH4 co-reduction route. Their physiochemical characterization (X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS)) results show alloyed PdIrNi nanoparticles that are well dispersed (<3 nm) and exist in metallic state that is air-stable apart from Ni and, slightly, Pd. Their electrocatalytic activity towards EOR was evaluated by means of cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronoamperometry (CA). Even though the physiochemical characterization of PdIrNi/C and Pd4Ir2Ni1/C is promising, their EOR performance has proven them less active than their Pd/C counterpart. Although the oxidation current peak of Pd/C is 1.8 A/mgPd, it is only 0.48 A/mgPd for Pd4Ir2Ni1/C and 0.52 A/mgPd for PdIrNi/C. These results were obtained three times and are reproducible, but since they do not add up with the sound PdIrNi microstructure, more advanced and in situ EOR studies are necessary to better understand the poor EOR performance.

New insights have been gained into chemical transformations occurring in the initial stages of aerosol-assisted sol–gel (AASG) synthesis of catalysts. This has been achieved through the combined application of optical trapping and Raman spectroscopy. AASG is an emerging technology in catalyst manufacturing that presents numerous advantages over conventional approaches, including the ability to access unique catalyst morphologies. However, the processes occurring during synthesis are largely inferred from bulk-phase analyses due to challenges in conducting in situ or operando measurements on moving aerosols within a flow tube. Herein, these obstacles are overcome through Raman spectroscopic interrogation of a single aerosol droplet constrained within an optical trap, which acts as a direct analogue for a particle moving along a flow tube. These studies represent the first operando investigations of AASG synthesis. The synthesis of Ni/Al2O3 catalysts has been studied, with spectroscopic interrogation conducted on each component of the precursor synthesis solution, where possible, up to and including a mixture containing all components necessary for catalyst synthesis. Raman spectroscopy confirms the formation of stable self-assembled macrostructures within the aerosol and provides direct insights into the reaction mechanisms. Crucially, evidence was obtained allowing alternative reaction pathways to be postulated within the confined environment of an aerosol droplet in comparison to bulk-phase syntheses. In aerosols where nickel was not present, but contained all other components, isothermal room-temperature studies showed the formation of stable but unreactive droplets of ∼1 μm, which were proposed to contain micelle-type structures. Upon heating, initial gelation transformations were seen to be achieved at temperatures higher than ∼56 °C. Notably, little loss of spectral intensity corresponding to the C–H stretch (ethanol) was observed from the heated aerosol, implying that evaporation is not a prerequisite for the reaction. When nickel is present in the synthesis solution reactive transformations occur at room temperature, proposed to result in a continuous Al–O–Ni–NO3 structure; a more rapid transformation takes place at elevated temperatures. These results provide the first direct evidence of the processes occurring within aerosols during AASG and shed new light on the mechanistic understanding of this technology. This therefore facilitates the design of new synthetic approaches and hence the production of catalysts and other materials with enhanced properties.

The direct use of ethanol in fuel cells presents unprecedented economic, technical, and environmental opportunities in energy conversion. However, complex challenges need to be resolved. For instance, ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR) requires breaking the rigid C–C bond and results in the generation of poisoning carbonaceous species. Therefore, new designs of the catalyst electrode are necessary. In this work, two trimetallic PdxAgyNiz/C samples are prepared using a facile borohydride reduction route. The catalysts are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Energy-Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and evaluated for EOR through cyclic voltammetry (CV), chronoamperometry (CA), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The XRD patterns have shown a weak alloying potential between Pd, and Ag prepared through co-reduction technique. The catalysts prepared have generally shown enhanced performance compared to previously reported ones, suggesting that the applied synthesis may be suitable for catalyst mass production. Moreover, the addition of Ag and Ni has improved the Pd physiochemical properties and electrocatalytic performance towards EOR in addition to reducing cell fabrication costs. In addition to containing less Pd, The PdAgNi/C is the higher performing of the two trimetallic samples presenting a 2.7 A/mgPd oxidation current peak. The Pd4Ag2Ni1/C is higher performing in terms of its steady-state current density and electrochemical active surface area.

Technologies for the reduction of nitric oxide are well established and are a critical resource in reducing the emission of nitrogen oxides released during combustion. Herein, we demonstrate a more sustainable approach, utilising Earth-abundant metals supported on waste-derived carbon to facilitate this reaction. Selective catalytic reduction, whereby a reductant is used to convert NO over a catalytic bed into nitrogen, is regarded as the best available technology for NO reduction. Here, we have investigated the use of H2, which has the potential to be produced from sustainable resources, as the reductant. Three selected d-metals (copper, iron and manganese) were impregnated over palm kernel shell activated carbons via incipient wetness. The characteristics of the carbon support and the derivative catalysts were analysed to investigate structure-performance relationships. H2-SCR was performed in a fixed-bed reactor; the results showed that the supported-copper catalyst converted NO completely at temperatures of 250 °C and above. This is attributed to the high reducibility and acidity of the catalyst as demonstrated via temperature-programmed reduction, ammonia-temperature programmed desorption, Fourier-transform infra-red spectroscopy and nitric oxide adsorption–desorption experiments. It is concluded that the carbon-supported d-metal catalysts are viable for use in H2-SCR, thereby promoting a more sustainable approach to mitigating NOx emissions.

Dimethyl carbonate (DMC) can be applied as a greener alternative to more hazardous materials, e.g. phosgene or dimethyl sulfate. Herein, one-pot synthesis of DMC from propylene oxide, methanol and CO2 using alkali halide catalysts under mild conditions was studied. Addition of Zn powder to the K2CO3 NaBr-ZnO catalyst system was seen to increase DMC selectivity from 19.8% (TOF = 39.0 h(-1)) to 40.2% (TOF = 78.1 h(-1)) at 20 bar and 160 degrees C for 5 h. Catalyst characterisation showed that Zn powder increases the stability of the catalyst, preventing the active ingredients on the catalyst surface from leaching. An increase in propylene oxide conversion to DMC is attributed to the increase of Zn2+ ions in the reaction solution. Elevated pressure was not found to be a necessary reaction condition for transesterification. This study shows that increased selectivity to DMC can be achieved at mild conditions with the addition of Zn powder. (C) 2020 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

The synthesis of palladium-based trimetallic catalysts via a facile and scalable synthesis procedure was shown to yield highly promising materials for borohydride-based fuel cells, which are attractive for use in compact environments. This, thereby, provides a route to more environmentally friendly energy storage and generation systems. Carbon-supported trimetallic catalysts were herein prepared by three different routes: using a NaBH4-ethylene glycol complex (PdAuNi/CSBEG), a NaBH4-2-propanol complex (PdAuNi/CSBIPA), and a three-step route (PdAuNi/C3-step). Notably, PdAuNi/CSBIPA yielded highly dispersed trimetallic alloy particles, as determined by XRD, EDX, ICP-OES, XPS, and TEM. The activity of the catalysts for borohydride oxidation reaction was assessed by cyclic voltammetry and RDE-based procedures, with results referenced to a Pd/C catalyst. A number of exchanged electrons close to eight was obtained for PdAuNi/C3-step and PdAuNi/CSBIPA (7.4 and 7.1, respectively), while the others, PdAuNi/CSBEG and Pd/CSBIPA, presented lower values, 2.8 and 1.2, respectively. A direct borohydride-peroxide fuel cell employing PdAuNi/CSBIPA catalyst in the anode attained a power density of 47.5 mW cm−2 at room temperature, while the elevation of temperature to 75 °C led to an approximately four-fold increase in power density to 175 mW cm−2. Trimetallic catalysts prepared via this synthesis route have significant potential for future development.

The synthesis of magnetic iron–carbon composites (Fe/C) from waste avocado seeds via hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) has been demonstrated for the first time. These materials are shown to be effective in adsorption and catalytic applications, with performances comparable to or higher than materials produced through conventional processing routes. Avocado seeds have been processed in high-temperature water (230 °C) at elevated pressure (30 bar at room temperature) in the presence of iron nitrate and iron sulfate, in a process mimicking natural coalification. Characterization of the synthesized material has been carried out by X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), magnetometry, and through surface area measurements. The supported iron particles are observed to be predominately magnetite, with an oxidized hematite surface region. The presence of iron catalyzes the formation of an extended, ordered polymeric structure in the avocado seed-derived carbon. The magnetic Fe/C has been demonstrated as an adsorbent for environmental wastewater treatment using methylene blue and indigo carmine. Kinetic analysis suggests that the adsorbates are chemisorbed, with the positive surface charge of Fe/C being preferential for indigo carmine adsorption (49 mg g–1). Additionally, Fe/C has been evaluated as a heterogeneous catalyst for the hydroalkoxylation of phenylacetylene with ethylene glycol to 2-benzyl-1,3-dioxolane. Product yields of 45% are obtained, with 100% regioselectivity to the formed isomer. The solid catalyst has the advantages of being prepared from a waste material and of easy removal after reaction via magnetic separation. These developments provide opportunities to produce carbon-based materials for a variety of high-value applications, potentially also including energy storage and biopharmaceuticals, from a wide range of lignocellulosic biomass feedstocks.