Much of organic chemistry, including the type used to create and alter medicinal drugs, relies on modifying carbon bonds. Rice University’s Julian West has been developing a less expensive, faster and more environmentally friendly way to catalyze these reactions, with a breakthrough published in the journal Nature Catalysis.

“Our work is essentially that of molecular architects. In my lab, we are particularly interested in using inexpensive and easily available building blocks to build and modify organic compounds,” said West, an assistant professor of chemistry and corresponding author of the study.

“Now, we’ve adapted our cheap and environmentally friendly method to precisely and specifically bind a carbon to other carbons, an essential reaction for making organic molecules.”