Sustainable analytical chemistry-more than just being green

Abstract

This review article describes analytical chemistry beyond green chemistry and all efforts that contribute to a more sustainable development. A background is given on sustainable development and green chemistry. Examples of "greening" strategies for sample preparation, chromatography, and detection are given. Thereafter, the review discusses how and why a method or a solvent could be claimed as being "green". Green metrics for analytical chemistry is discussed, including the environment, health, and safety (EHS) index and life cycle assessment (LCA). The choice of solvent and the criteria for a solvent being "green" is also discussed. Finally, sustainable analytical chemistry is described by considering the three important "legs" so as to obtain sustainable development-economic feasibility, societal relevance, and environmental soundness. Hopefully, the review article will stimulate some new perspectives on the difference between greenness and sustainability in analytical chemistry. © 2013 IUPAC.