Apatites: A new family of catalysts in organic synthesis

• Calcium apatites CaII10(PO4)6X2 (X = OH, F) are tunable solid catalysts.
• Apatites surfaces can be modified by adsorbing organometallic molecules and salts.
• Apatites are good and cheap catalysts for many organic reactions.

The development of green and sustainable chemistry is one of the most exciting challenges in modern chemistry. In this way, design of new catalysts for heterogeneous processes is of prime importance and plays a key role to reduce the impact of chemistry on the environment.Our approach to green chemistry deals with the use of an inexpensive suitable and recyclable material namely the apatite's family. Apatites, in which the composition and surface properties can be tuned, are themselves catalysts or can be used as support for catalytic centres in many organic reactions. In this review, we describe the state of the art in this emerging field.

View of a FAp (left) and Ru-FAp (right)Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide