Catalysis at the crossroads.

Approximately 90% of industrial chemical products use catalysts during manufacturing to speed up a reaction, minimize energy consumption, and reduce waste products (1). They are classified into two main types. Homogeneous catalysts that are in the same phase as the reactants decrease the activation energy by direct binding. By contrast, heterogeneous catalysts are in a different phase than the reactants and work by surface reactions (2). Both mechanisms have long been considered distinct from each other. Consequently, catalysis discovery efforts do not attempt to encompass both homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts concurrently. On page 49 of this issue, Harraz et al. (3) report an interconversion between homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts within the same catalytic cycle of vinyl acetate synthesis. This finding could usher in new approaches for designing catalytic processes that combine the high efficiency of homogeneous catalysts with the facile operation of heterogeneous catalysts for broad industrial applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]