Catalysts are substances or materials which accelerate the rate of a chemical reaction without being consumed by the reaction themselves. They’re an essential component of many different industrial processes used to produce chemicals, foodstuffs and other materials. Perhaps one of the first intentional uses of catalysis was in the fermentation of sugar to make alcohol. Another common example is the use of catalytic converters on cars, to control exhaust emissions.

Until recently, most researchers had overlooked gold as a possible industrial catalyst. However, there is now a growing anticipation about gold’s potential for catalysing industrial reactions, largely thanks to the recent work of Graham Hutchings at the University of Wales, and Masatake Haruta from AIST in Japan.

One of the most remarkable things about catalysis by gold is the low temperature at which it becomes functional. Gold catalysts operate best between 200-350K°, whereas platinum needs temperatures between 400-800K° to work properly. Gold also offers the potential to catalyse new reactions, and can in some cases be surprisingly cost-effective.