A discovery by the Politecnico di Milano opens up new perspectives in the field of sustainable chemical synthesis, promoting innovative solutions that allow chemicals to be created in a more efficient and environmentally friendly way. The research was published in the journal «Nature Synthesis».

The team developed a catalyst that is more active and selective in esterification reactions, through which products used in the manufacture of medicines, food additives and polymers are formed.

The revolutionary feature of this new catalyst is that it reduces the use of rare metals, a significant step towards conserving critical resources and making processes more sustainable. In addition, the catalyst can be activated by sunlight, eliminating the need for energy-intensive methods. This discovery holds enormous potential in reducing dependence on finite resources and lowering the environmental impact of catalytic processes.

Gianvito Vilé, Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering 'Giulio Natta', coordinated the project, while Mark Bajada, a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellow at the Politecnico di Milano, is the first author of the paper. The study was conducted in close collaboration with researchers from Università di Milano Bicocca and Università di Torino, and was funded by the European Commission through a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship and a Horizon Europe project recently awarded to the Politecnico di Milano (SusPharma).

Light-driven C–O coupling of carboxylic acids and alkyl halides over a Ni single-atom catalyst

Mark A. Bajada, Giovanni Di Liberto, Sergio Tosoni, Vincenzo Ruta, Lorenzo Mino, Nicolò Allasia, Alessandra Sivo, Gianfranco Pacchioni & Gianvito Vilé

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