Thursday, 2nd February 2006 (4314 views)

Scientists have discovered that catalysts using gold nanoparticles can produce chemical products cheaply, and in an environmentally-friendly manner.

Researchers at the University of Cardiff looked at the oxidation processes used to make agricultural and pharmaceutical chemical products.

The group's findings, reported in Nature magazine, stated that catalysts composed of gold-palladium nanoparticles, arranged on a titanium oxide support, can be fine-tuned by the addition of bismuth.

They can also promote oxidation using oxygen under solvent-free conditions. No chlorine is used so they are more environmentally friendly. The oxidation of alcohols is important in the manufacture of perfumes.

The research group was led by Cardiff University's Professor Graham Hutchings, and included Professor Chris Kiely of Lehigh University in Pennsylvania.

Scientists have been studying gold as a catalyst closely in recent years, but admit that they still have a lot to learn.

"Gold is a very useful catalyst for many chemical reactions," said Kiely, "but we're still not sure what happens at the molecular scale during the catalysis process. The more we learn, the better we can fine-tune nanoparticle catalysts".

Tokyo Metropolitan University chemist Masatake Haruta claimed the findings could "transform" the chemical industry.

 

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