Molecular water provides a channel for communication between Brønsted acid sites in solid catalysts

Solvent molecules play important mechanistic roles in catalytic reactions, such as the formation of molecular channels and networks to enable communication between spatially isolated active sites. In this issue of Chem Catalysis, Resasco and colleagues discuss how molecular water delocalizes proton sites from acidic functional groups grafted on a mesoporous silica support, thus facilitating dual-site elementary steps that lead to increased turnover rates of cyclopentanone condensation.