New iron-based catalysts will be used for the production of cheaper, greener and safer drugs and perfumes, according to a new study.
Iron-based catalysts are necessary for the production of amines and alcohols that are used by the drug and perfume industry. Over the years, a lot of questions have been raised about the safety of many drugs, cosmetics and perfumes available in the market today. In an attempt to find a solution to this problem, researchers from the University of Toronto combined a series of techniques to create very active iron-based catalysts. These newly developed catalysts will be used to produce cheaper, greener and safer perfumes and drugs, according to a press statement released by the University.
Iron is the fifth most abundant naturally occurring metal on Earth. Taking advantage of Earth's extensive supply of this element, researchers have substituted it in place of other rarer elements like ruthenium, rhodium, palladium and platinum, which are traditionally used in the design of hydrogenation catalysts. The end result was a production of an exceptionally efficient class of iron complexes whose abilities challenge and even surpass those of conventional industrial catalysts.
"There is a research effort world-wide to make chemical processes more sustainable and green by replacing the rare, expensive and potentially toxic elements used in hydrogenation, catalytic converters in cars, fuel cells for the efficient conversion of chemical energy into electricity, and silicone coatings, with abundant ions such as iron," said U of T chemistry professor Robert Morris, principal investigator of the study. "Iron is about 10,000 times cheaper to obtain than ruthenium. And less than 200 metric tons of platinum-type metals are mined in the world every year, not all of it can be recycled after use, it is not essential to life, and it can be toxic."
After creating the iron based catalysts, researchers produced a variety of alcohol, which can be used in drug and flavor synthesis.
"We found a way to make the ferrous form of iron behave in a catalytic process much more efficiently than a precious metal. We did this by finding molecules containing nitrogen, phosphorus, carbon and hydrogen, that bond to, and enhance, the reactivity of iron," said Morris.
Results and findings of the study were reported in the November 29 issue of Science.
