Catalysis is the cornerstone of modern chemical industry, and it has played a central role in the well-being of human society and in the enhancement of livelihood of the people. Catalysis is surely one of the key factors to the sustainable growth of our economy because it greatly promotes efficient chemical conversions in terms of both energy and atom economy.

The past 30 years have witnessed enormous efforts devoted to the science and technology in catalysis in China, and significant achievements have been made by the creative and productive Chinese catalysis community. The fundamental research, such as discovery of novel catalytic materials, new catalyst preparations, characterization methods, and novel catalytic reactions, has made such great progress as to achieve in-depth understanding of the fundamental aspects of a catalytic process; the introduction of surface science and nanoscience has greatly and systematically inspired researchers to delve into the investigation on the dependence of catalyst properties on the size, shape, elemental composition, and electronic coupling with the substrate. Research in catalytic applications has also made significant and all-around progress, such as in the optimal utilization of coal, petroleum and natural gas, advanced materials, and so on. The tremendous progress in catalysis has made it possible for Chinese scientists to address both the issues of environmental protection and renewable energy in China.

With the boom in catalysis research in China, the international influence of Chinese catalysis research consequently increases greatly. An increasing number of novel and important research results in catalysis in China have been reported on the flagship international journals. Chinese scientists in catalysis have actively participated in the international academic arena by attending and hosting international meetings, collaborating widely with international laboratories, and so on.

The Catalysis Society of China and its standing Secretariat were founded; the Chinese National Conferences on Catalysis were held biannually; and 17 conferences have been held so far. Some notable prizes were established to award researchers in catalysis community in China on the basis of their academic excellence and achievement. In 2006, the Catalysis Achievement Award and the Catalysis Award for Young Scientists were set up; in 2010, the Catalysis Rising Star Award was also established. These awards are presented biannually in the closing ceremony of the Chinese National Conferences on Catalysis.

The Chinese Chemical Society has set up some prizes such as the Young Chemist Award, the Young Cutting-Edge Nanochemistry Researcher Award, the Chinese Chemical Society-BASF Knowledge Innovation Award to Youths, among others. In 2013, the Min Enze Energy and Chemical Engineering Award was founded, which was jointly presented by the Chinese Academy of Engineering and the Sinopec Group. Two scientists in Chinese catalysis community have been awarded the above prizes for their excellent contributions.

This special issue is dedicated to the awardees of Catalysis community in China, as has been discussed on previous routine meetings by our Editors and Editorial office staffs. This special issue is thus a timely collection of peer-reviewed research articles contributed by the Award Winners. On behalf of the editorial team, we appreciate their contributions and thank the reviewers for their efforts. Finally, we also congratulate all the winners on their much-deserved awards.