Sustainable catalysis

Nowadays, the chemical industry uses almost all elements of the periodic table as reagents, catalysts or ligands with the range of applications determined mainly by economic considerations such as the process performance, catalyst and feedstock prices. During the applications, the elements involved are converted from concentrated sources (such as ores) into diluted product and waste streams. Recovery of even the most precious elements from these sources is currently either very difficult of prohibitively expensive resulting in depletion of the available resources. A lot of processes operate this way, but the series of books Sustainable catalysis stresses the importance of an alternative, sustainable, approach.

All elements of the periodic table depending on supply risks can be classified (i) as abundant such as hydrogen, iron or silicon; (ii) as elements of limited availability such as lithium, phosphorus or nickel; (iii) as endangered such as germanium, zinc and platinum metals. Hence, sustainable development of chemical processes requires as thorough as possible utilisation of abundant elements instead of endangered ones. To achieve this goal, the book series Sustainable catalysis provides an excellent in-depth overview of the applications of non-endangered elements in all aspects of catalysis from heterogeneous to homogeneous, from catalyst supports to ligands.

Four volumes of the book series are divided into two sub-topics devoted to (i) metal-based catalysts and (ii) catalysts without metals or other endangered elements. Each sub-topic comprises of two books due to the detailed analysis of catalytic applications described. All chapters are written by the world-leading researchers in the area; however, covering far beyond the scope of their immediate research interests, which makes the book particularly valuable for a wide range of readers.

Sustainable catalysis: with non-endangered metals begins with a very brief chapter which describes the concept of elemental sustainability, overviewing the abundance of the critical elements and perspectives on sustainable catalysts. The chapters follow the groups of the periodic table from left to right, from alkaline metals to lead spanning 22 chapters. For elements that have broad applications such as titanium, iron or aluminium, several chapters cover various groups of applications. The scope of catalysts described is truly colossal. Heterogeneous catalysts span from iron in the Haber-Bosch synthesis or gold nanoparticles in oxidation to precisely porosity-controlled titanium-incorporated zeolite TS-1. However, the books are not confined to only catalysts, but present all the relevant applications such as catalyst supports or photocatalysts. The range of homogeneous catalysts described in the books is even wider provided its important role in chemistry. Homogeneous catalysts portrayed vary from lead salt solutions in the synthesis of lactic acid from cellulose, to titanium polymerisation catalysts, to lithium-based Lewis bases, zirconium complexes for seteoselective polylactide formation, chromium compounds for Cannizzaro reactions and much more.

The two books comprising series Sustainable catalysis: without metals or other endangered elements set an even more ambitious goal for the metal-free catalysis. The number of abundant non-metals is significant: hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulphur and chlorine; hence, utilisation of these elements is essential for elemental sustainability. The books start with a short historical perspective of non-metallic catalysts that go a century back. The next three chapters are devoted to catalysis by acids or bases on nitrogen-containing compounds and heterocycles; acids in traditional or supercritical solvents, ionic liquids as well as various solid acid catalysts. The following 20 chapters are devoted to asymmetric catalysis by organic compounds (organocatalysis) focusing mainly on recent works. The books cover catalytic applications of proline derivatives, other animoacids and peptides, alkaloids, amines, ureas, as well as more simple classes as alcohols and carboxylic acids.

In conclusion, the book series Sustainable catalysis not only shows an important problem of elemental sustainability but answers the question how to achieve it in order to allow the future generation to use the whole range of chemical elements. The books provide a very deep and detailed analysis of the cutting-edge organic chemistry performed using only sustainable means, that is with catalysts, supports, ligands that contain only non-endangered elements. This knowledge is definitely invaluable for readers such as PhD students and researchers specialising in organic chemistry and catalysis, or lecturers preparing the materials for the next generation chemists.