Asymmetric catalysis is a relatively mature field in the laboratory, with a diverse array of techniques available for the selective transformation of organic compounds. However, scaling up these techniques for industrial application remains challenging, in part because many catalysts act best on reagents that have been expensively modified, although this process often generates copious waste. Zbieg et al. (p. 324, published online 22 March) combat this challenge with a ruthenium-based catalyst that couples an unmodified bulk commodity feedstock (butadiene) with alcohols, forming carbon-carbon bonds to generate complex products with high selectivity.
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