Carbon-based Catalysts as a Sustainable and Metal-free Tool for Gas-phase Industrial Oxidation Processes

Catalytic oxidation reactions rank among the most widely exploited industrial processes for the production of chemicals and commodities. Heterogeneous catalytic systems are generally in the form of promoted metals/metal oxides as active phases deposited on a plethora of oxide-, nitride-, non-oxide-, and carbon-based carriers, depending on the ultimate catalysts downstream application. Regardless, their high production costs, the toxicity deriving from metal-nanoobject leaching, and their subsequent environmental impact have prompted scientists to find cheaper and greener catalytic alternatives while ensuring comparable or even higher performance in a given catalytic process. Single-phase, metal-free catalysts in the form of carbon-based materials represent a valuable choice with unique properties and remarkable performance in a wide variety of industrially relevant transformations. The following chapter aims to be an exhaustive overview of the most relevant achievements in two specific branches of gas-phase industrial oxidation catalysis promoted by (hetero-doped) carbon-based 1D-3D architectures: the selective H 2 S oxidation to elemental sulfur and the alkane dehydrogenation to olefins.