Main group compounds for bond activation and catalysis

大多数附加值化学品是由原料通过催化方法生产的。催化剂是一种化合物，它可以改变化学反应的速度，并允许以更便宜和更环保的方式进行化学反应。催化作用涉及石油精炼、能源生产、农用化学品、聚合物和制药行业，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，这些重要过程中的大多数是由后过渡金属催化的，如铑和铂，这些金属价格昂贵，而且被认为是有毒的，这增加了合成和提纯的成本。

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.