Caltech Chemists Discover Efficient, Cheap Chemical Catalyst (IMAGE)

California Institute of Technology

Caltech Chemists Discover Efficient, Cheap Chemical Catalyst

Caption

A crystal dispersing a beam of light serves as a metaphor for a striking, natural chemical process that is seemingly effortless, yet efficient and powerful. Here, potassium tert-butoxide -- the catalyst in the new reaction -- is represented within the prism. Simple, bulk organic molecules (depicted in the white light) pass through the prism and are transformed into complex building blocks that are useful in a variety of applications (represented in the color spectrum).

Credit

Santiago Lombeyda and Robin Betz/Caltech

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