New Molecules Created at Notre Dame to Reduce Cost, Environmental Impact of Mining Precious Metals

Presented by Notre Dame Research

Researchers at the University of Notre Dame have invented a new class of molecules that can be used to simplify the process used for capturing precious metals including gold, platinum and palladium.

The study, which was published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, shows how these newly developed molecules were created with a particular shape and size that enable them to capture and contain precious metal ions. This unique molecular recognition property can be exploited for multiple applications – the most notable of which is gold mining.