Japanese researchers develop light-powered photocatalyst for efficient ester reduction, replacing costly and harmful metal reductants.

Researchers at Japan's National Institutes of Natural Sciences have developed a novel photocatalyst that uses light as an energy source for efficient ester reduction. Ester reduction is crucial in industries like pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, but traditional methods involve costly and environmentally harmful metal reductants. The team's findings were published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society on June 14.