Catalytically, is copper the new gold?

A picture of gold, silver and copper bars

Source: © Shutterstock

Approach for depositing copper on silica support influences how easily it oxidises, and in turn the reactions it catalyses

Researchers in China claim that they have changed the chemical properties affecting a copper catalyst’s electronic structure, making it more like gold or silver. The team, led by Jian Sun from Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has devised a new approach to making catalysts that yield useful organic molecules from coal.