Green chemistry: Au naturel catalyst mimics nature to break tenacious carbon-hydrogen bond

A new catalyst for breaking the tough molecular bond between carbon and hydrogen holds the promise of a cleaner, easier, cheaper way to derive products from petroleum, say researchers. Simple, plentiful hydrocarbons are the starting block for complex chemical products such as plastics and pharmaceuticals. The first step, however, is very, very difficult — breaking the carbon-hydrogen bond. A new au naturel catalyst mimics nature to break the tenacious C-H bond.

(via WSJ)