Chemists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have developed a new class of nickel catalysts that could significantly change how important chemicals are made.
The discovery centers on a rare and hard-to-control form of nickel that scientists have long wanted to use but could never reliably handle.
The work, led by Professor Liviu Mirica, was published in Nature Catalysis.
Nickel catalysts are widely used in chemistry to help join atoms together, especially carbon atoms.
These reactions are essential for making pharmaceuticals, agricultural chemicals, electronics, and advanced materials.
Until now, most nickel-catalyzed reactions relied on two common forms of the metal, known as nickel(0) and nickel(II). A third form, nickel(I), has been especially attractive because it could enable new and faster reactions.
The problem is that nickel(I) compounds are usually unstable and difficult to isolate, making them impractical for everyday use.
The Illinois research team has now solved this long-standing problem by creating nickel(I) compounds that are stable, easy to prepare, and safe to store. Mirica describes the result simply: they have managed to “put nickel(I) in a bottle.”
These new catalysts can sit on a shelf without breaking down, which is highly unusual for this form of nickel.
The key to this breakthrough lies in a class of organic molecules called isocyanides. These molecules act like supports that bind to the nickel atom and stabilize it.
Previous attempts to control nickel(I) relied on complex and restrictive chemical supports, which limited how widely the catalysts could be used. In contrast, isocyanides are simple, commercially available, and flexible, allowing the nickel to remain stable while still being highly reactive.
Using this approach, the researchers created two related families of nickel(I) catalysts. One type is slightly more reactive than the other, but both perform exceptionally well in several of the most important chemical reactions used in industry.
These include reactions that form carbon–carbon and carbon–nitrogen bonds, which are central steps in drug development and materials science.
What makes these catalysts especially promising is their efficiency. The team found that only very small amounts of the nickel catalyst are needed to drive reactions forward. This is unusual in nickel chemistry, where larger quantities of catalyst are often required. Using less metal can lower costs, reduce waste, and make processes more sustainable.
The researchers also observed hints of entirely new chemical behavior. By introducing nickel(I) directly into reactions, they were able to trigger reactions that had not been seen before with traditional nickel catalysts. While these early results are just a glimpse of what may be possible, they suggest that this new chemistry could unlock previously unexplored reaction pathways.
Another advantage of the system is its flexibility. The study showed that the approach is not limited to a single type of isocyanide. Different isocyanides can be used to fine-tune how the catalyst behaves, opening the door to a wide range of future applications.
Looking ahead, the team plans to study these catalysts in more detail, including how their structure affects their behavior and why different versions show different reactivity.
Because nickel is relatively abundant and less expensive than many other metals used in catalysis, this discovery could have a major impact on how complex molecules are made in laboratories and factories around the world.
