Nanoparticle-based, bio-inspired catalyst could help make more efficient reactions affordable

Date posted
Funding Agency
(Funded by the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research)

A team of researchers at the University of Michigan has built catalysts that guide chemical reactions toward the right version of chiral molecules. This discovery could lead to more efficient production of some medicines. The catalysts, which are assemblies of mineral nanoparticles made chiefly from zinc oxide, are at least 10 times better at selecting a particular version of a chiral molecule than earlier catalysts of this type.