Nanogold’s chemical revolution

Abstract

From a chemist’s point of view, gold used to be a relatively unimportant element. A few compounds were known, and some had healing properties, but that was as far as it went. Today nanogold is a hot topic in laboratories around the world and is having an impact on the chemical industry. It is part of the movement to “green” the industry thanks to its remarkable catalytic ability. And it began in a rather low key way in a Japanese government laboratory 25 years ago.