After 15 years of research, chemists have successfully developed a new class of catalysts that include the metal ruthenium, that help drive a chemical reaction called “olefin metathesis”.
What sets this new class of catalysts apart is their ability to selectively form products that have a particular geometry - this has proven extremely difficult in the past.
Such catalysts could be used to develop environmentally friendly synthesised chemicals, which could be used in pharmaceuticals and advanced plastics.
Read more at California Institute of Technology