Industrial Applications of Green Solvents for Sustainable Development of Technologies in Organic Synthesis

Abstract

Green chemistry is focused on replacement or reduction of common materials which are the reason of ecosystem damages. Organic solvents are the main culprit of volatile organic compound (VOC) emission into the atmosphere. Therefore, different environmentally friendly solvents have replaced them. Alternative solvents should decrease the negative impact of organic solvents into the environment. Green solvents like water, ionic liquids (ILs), fluorous solvents, supercritical carbon dioxide (SCO2), bio-solvents, and organic carbonates are reviewed in this chapter for organic synthesis. Although water is an ideal medium for plenty of reactions, ionic liquids and fluorous solvents are suitable for reactions which cannot accomplish in supercritical carbon dioxide or water. Reaction rates are so high in supercritical carbon dioxide due to its properties which are intermediate between those of a liquid or gas. While organic carbonates are used for medical, pharmaceutical, and extraction applications, bio-solvents are applied in cleaning agents, cosmetic, and agricultural chemicals.