This special issue presents the recent advances of the international catalysis community presented in the VII edition of the International Congress and XVII Mexican Congress of Catalysis. The community is clearly researching to prevent environmental pollution and improve catalytic processes through a novel and innovative materials. There were 158 participants from 14 countries, including Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Spain, Brazil, Chile, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Peru, Portugal, France, Canada, the United States, and Singapore. The congress was organized around the central theme, “New Frontiers in Catalysis.“ As a result, in this special issue, we have a total of 32 high-quality articles focused on new materials and their wide application in heterogeneous catalysis reactions. The catalysis groups presented seven research papers about photocatalysis, which resulted in a hot topic in our congress. The special issue also contains articles about steam reforming, hydrodesulfurization, ring opening, methanation, oxidative desulfurization, electrochemistry, and biomass conversion, among many other topics.

The VII edition of the International Congress and XVII Mexican Congress of Catalysis for the year 2021 had as president of the organizing committee Dr. Maria Guadalupe Cardenas-Galindo from Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosi as well as several members of the community belonging to the Bajio Region of the Catalysis Academy A.C. (ACAT) On the other hand, Dr. Jorge Noé Díaz de León was invited to be the president of the scientific committee along with Drs. Carolina Solis-Maldonado, José G. Pacheco-Sosa, Rafael Huirache-Acuña, and Juan Carlos Fierro-Gonzalez from academic entities throughout our country. The congress was held in virtual mode, as many others, due to epidemiological conditions caused by COVID-19. This experience, however, was fruitful because it allowed renowned scientists in the catalysis field to accept to give us plenary lectures. We had Dr. Susannah L. Scott for the opening session, she is executive editor of the journal ACS catalysis, founder of interdisciplinary educational programs, and has more than 20 awards and distinctions for her career in catalysis. We had Dr. Enrique Iglesia, who is an international reference in the catalysis field; he has been editor-in-chief of the Journal of Catalysis and recipient of multiple awards and appointments, including vice president of the International Association of Catalysis Societies (IACS). We also had Dr. Avelino Corma Canos, who has a great trajectory in the field of catalysis; he is the founder of the Institute of Chemical Technology of the Polytechnic University of Valencia and winner of the Prince of Asturias Award. We have the plenary lecture of Dr. Antonia Infantes Molina, a recognized researcher working at the University of Malaga with several publications and citations. She is currently the academic research coordinator of the Fundación General of Malaga University. Finally, for the closure session, we have Dr. Sergio Fuentes Moyado, a well-known Mexican researcher with several patents, published articles, and more than 5000 citations. He is currently the IACS secretary and ex-president of the Academia de Catálisis A.C. of Mexico

Finally, we would like to acknowledge the Topics in Catalysis Journal and editors Cansu Kaya and Matthew Smyllie for accepting to publish this Special Issue and to all peer reviewers who helped us increase this volume’s quality.