Application of metal cluster compounds of Group 5-7 metals to substitutes for the platinum group metal catalysts

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Platinum group metals are widely used as catalysts for bulk and fine chemical synthesis. Since they are highly expensive and their production is limited, alternative catalysts are urgently needed. We have found that halide and sulfide clusters of Group 5?7 metals, thermally activated in a hydrogen stream, catalyze hydrogenation of various unsaturated organic compounds, dehydrogenation of cyclohexene, and hydrogenolysis of halogenated benzenes. These reactions have been catalyzed by the platinum group metals such as palladium, platinum, rhodium, and ruthenium. The thermal activation partially eliminates the halide or sulfur ligands, leading to the development of coordinatively unsaturated metal atoms, which would be active sites for the catalytic reactions.