SCI和EI收录∣中国化工学会会刊

Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering ›› 2025, Vol. 84 ›› Issue (8): 179-189.DOI: 10.1016/j.cjche.2025.06.008

• Review • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Knowledge graphs in heterogeneous catalysis: Recent advances and future opportunities

Raúl Díaz, Hongliang Xin   

  1. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, United States
  • Received:2025-03-08 Revised:2025-06-23 Accepted:2025-06-23 Online:2025-06-30 Published:2025-08-28
  • Contact: Hongliang Xin,E-mail:hxin@vt.edu
  • Supported by:
    R.Diaz acknowledges support from the Full Bridge Fellowship for enabling the research stay at Virginia Tech. H.Xin acknowledge the financial support from the US Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences under contract no. DE-SC0023323 and from the National Science Foundation through the grant 2245402 from CBET Catalysis and CDS&E programs.

Knowledge graphs in heterogeneous catalysis: Recent advances and future opportunities

Raúl Díaz, Hongliang Xin   

  1. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, United States
  • 通讯作者: Hongliang Xin,E-mail:hxin@vt.edu
  • 基金资助:
    R.Diaz acknowledges support from the Full Bridge Fellowship for enabling the research stay at Virginia Tech. H.Xin acknowledge the financial support from the US Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences under contract no. DE-SC0023323 and from the National Science Foundation through the grant 2245402 from CBET Catalysis and CDS&E programs.

Abstract: Knowledge graphs (KGs) offer a structured, machine-readable format for organizing complex information. In heterogeneous catalysis, where data on catalytic materials, reaction conditions, mechanisms, and synthesis routes are dispersed across diverse sources, KGs provide a semantic framework that supports data integration under the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) principles. This review aims to survey recent developments in catalysis KGs, describe the main techniques for graph construction, and highlight how artificial intelligence, particularly large language models (LLMs), enhances graph generation and query. We conducted a systematic analysis of the literature, focusing on ontology-guided text mining pipelines, graph population methods, and maintenance strategies. Our review identifies key trends: ontology-based approaches enable the automated extraction of domain knowledge, LLM-driven retrieval-augmented generation supports natural-language queries, and scalable graph architectures range from a few thousand to over a million triples. We discuss state-of-the-art applications, such as catalyst recommendation systems and reaction mechanism discovery tools, and examine the major challenges, including data heterogeneity, ontology alignment, and long-term graph curation. We conclude that KGs, when combined with AI methods, hold significant promise for accelerating catalyst discovery and knowledge management, but progress depends on establishing community standards for ontology development and maintenance. This review provides a roadmap for researchers seeking to leverage KGs to advance heterogeneous catalysis research.

Key words: Heterogeneous catalysis, Knowledge graph, Ontology, Large language models, Deep learning

摘要: Knowledge graphs (KGs) offer a structured, machine-readable format for organizing complex information. In heterogeneous catalysis, where data on catalytic materials, reaction conditions, mechanisms, and synthesis routes are dispersed across diverse sources, KGs provide a semantic framework that supports data integration under the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) principles. This review aims to survey recent developments in catalysis KGs, describe the main techniques for graph construction, and highlight how artificial intelligence, particularly large language models (LLMs), enhances graph generation and query. We conducted a systematic analysis of the literature, focusing on ontology-guided text mining pipelines, graph population methods, and maintenance strategies. Our review identifies key trends: ontology-based approaches enable the automated extraction of domain knowledge, LLM-driven retrieval-augmented generation supports natural-language queries, and scalable graph architectures range from a few thousand to over a million triples. We discuss state-of-the-art applications, such as catalyst recommendation systems and reaction mechanism discovery tools, and examine the major challenges, including data heterogeneity, ontology alignment, and long-term graph curation. We conclude that KGs, when combined with AI methods, hold significant promise for accelerating catalyst discovery and knowledge management, but progress depends on establishing community standards for ontology development and maintenance. This review provides a roadmap for researchers seeking to leverage KGs to advance heterogeneous catalysis research.

关键词: Heterogeneous catalysis, Knowledge graph, Ontology, Large language models, Deep learning