Organic carbonates as green media: from laboratory syntheses to industrial applications

Abstract

The research on greener solvents is of paramount importance for achieving sustainable processes. To replace traditional hazardous media, green solvents must display negligible environmental effects and biological degradability while being available on a large scale and exhibiting comparable or even superior performances than the currently employed media. In this scenario, organic carbonates (OCs) are among the most prominent candidates as they are commercially available at a reasonable price and offer a broad range of tunable proprieties, making them usable in a wide range of applications. Based on this premise, this review focuses on the use of OCs as green media ranging from laboratory synthetic approaches to industrial applications. According to our literature screening covering the last 40 years, organic carbonates have mostly been investigated as electrolyte solvents (23%), media in organic synthesis (21%) and solvents for the extraction of compounds from different biological and non-biological matrices (13%). Besides, OCs have applications in several other fields spanning from analytical chemistry and biological/biochemical fields to the restoration of ancient artifacts. Most of the OCs used in these applications are dialkyl carbonates (DACs), such as dimethyl carbonate (DMC), propylene carbonate (PC) and ethylene carbonate (EC), which are commercially available at low cost. However, owing to their simple synthetic procedures, new custom-made organic carbonates have been synthetized and used for membrane casting, preparation of polymers and plasticizers, surface modification of materials and as electrolytes in Li-ion batteries. Organic carbonates go beyond simply replacing toxic solvents; they offer an opportunity to transform a variety of processes into sustainable processes. From enhancing the performance of batteries and advancing materials science to driving innovations in green chemistry and improving industrial sustainability, their potential is vast. The adoption of organic carbonates as green media is likely to have far-reaching effects, making them valuable tools for researchers and industries aiming to develop more sustainable processes.