Main group compounds for bond activation and catalysis

大多数增值化学品都是通过催化从原料中生产出来的。催化剂是一种能改变化学反应速率的化合物，它能使化学反应以一种更便宜、更环保的方式进行。催化作用涉及石油炼制、能源生产、农化、聚合物和制药工业，甚至食品工业部门的各种工业过程。它直接或间接地占工业化国家GDP的20-25%。然而，这些重要的过程大多是由后期过渡金属催化的，如铑和铂，这些金属昂贵且被认为是有毒的，这增加了合成和纯化的成本。

Most value-added chemicals are produced from feedstock materials by means of catalysis. Catalysts are compounds that change the rate of chemical reactions and allow for chemical reactions to be carried out in a less expensive and more environmentally benign way. Catalysis is involved in a variety of industrial processes in the petroleum refining, energy production, agrochemical, polymer, and pharmaceutical industries, even food industry sectors. It accounts, directly or indirectly, for 20-25% of GDP of industrialised countries. However, most of these important processes are catalysed by late transition metals, such as rhodium and platinum, which are expensive and are recognized to be toxic, which contributes to the cost of synthesis and purification.