Yale University researchers have developed palladium-based catalysts, which may provide a less expensive and more sustainable alternative for producing industrial chemicals.

Vials of new chemical catalysts based on palladium. Image credit: Yale UniversityThe system creates an improved chemical infrastructure upon which catalysis can take place. That means less palladium is needed to produce chemical compounds used in pharmaceuticals, plastics, agrochemicals and other industries. Currently, palladium can be a costly material for industrial use.

"We have developed an improved system that is less prone to deactivation," says Nilay Hazari, an associate professor of chemistry at Yale and co-author of the study. Hazari says the development could make the preparation of many industrially relevant compounds more economical and sustainable and may lead to new methods to prepare important compounds.

This new process builds upon previous work done by Hazari’s group that found issues related to deactivation of the palladium catalyst in another system. The Yale-derived catalysts are reportedly available commercially from several chemical companies.