Argonne scientists uses ALD vanadium as a catalyst for hydrogenation

Argonne researcher Max Delferro enhanced a process for catalytic activity of  vanadium for hydrogenation. The advantage is that if we can make vanadium that is an abundant metal catalytically active there are huge cost savings compared to using noble metals like Platinum or Paladium.

“Getting single-atom vanadium into this special configuration on metal oxide surfaces is not easy,” Delferro said. “It requires the use of special synthetic techniques such as surface organometallic chemistry and atomic layer deposition. However, if we can make vanadium or another abundant metal as catalytically active as the noble metals, we can create dramatic cost savings in these very common and commercially important catalytic processes.” Delferro said in a press release by Argonne (LINK).

Publication: “Isolated, Well-Defined Organovanadium(III) on Silica: Single-Site Catalyst for Hydrogenation of Alkenes and Alkynes,” Chemical Communications