Modification of surface properties due to the action of spillover species during catalytic reactions. An overview

We give here an overview of new developments concerning spillover processes in catalysis. We focus on the remote control, namely the ability of spillover species to promote activity and selectivity and to act against the deactivation of catalysts. This deals both with the atomic level processes and the macroscopic description of the phenomenon, and alludes to the new chemical engineering developments the concept leads to. This summarizes several very recent reviews (1-6).