Hydrogenation with Low-Cost Transition Metals

"This book provides a broad overview of hydrogenation reactions catalyzed by inexpensive metals. It is timely, because the importance of developing catalysts that do not require large quantities of rare and expensive metals is increasingly recognized as being a critical sustainability issue for catalysis. Using case studies from the recent scientific literature, the authors focus on how catalysts that utilize nickel, iron, copper, and silver can be applied to reactions of practical interest in fine chemicals, pharmaceuticals, conversion of biomass to bioproducts, and other areas. This book can therefore provide an important foundation for students and researchers interested in hydrogenation catalysis."
-Will Medlin, University of Colorado, Boulder, USA

"In a context where noble metals are subject to higher and fluctuating costs, this book presents an interesting overview on the performance of heterogeneous catalysts based on cheaper and more abundant metals, such as iron, nickel, or copper, as substitutes for selective hydrogenation reactions in fine chemistry (drugs syntheses, processing of biosourced molecules) and depollution through bibliographical reports based on the most recent literature. A pertinent emphasis is put on the current knowledge concerning support and particle size effects, which are still open questions that need to be answered in the future to optimize the catalysts' properties."
-Dr. Eric Marceau, Universite Lille 1, France

"The book clearly presents important problems in the field of chemical catalysis. Search for new, cheaper, and effective catalysts for hydrogenation processes is essential for the development of chemical technology, particularly in relation to technology of fine chemicals."
-Prof. Dr. Zbigniew Karpinski, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, School of Science, Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University, Warsaw, Poland

"Hydrogenation reactions are ubiquitous in the processing of feedstock for fuels, food, and fine chemical applications. The need to develop more cost-effective and less toxic formulations and processes is obvious, and this book depicts in a didactic manner recent achievements and current challenges in the use of base metals."
-Dr. Frederic Meunier, CNRS - University of Lyon, France