Themed collection International Symposium on Green Chemistry 2019

Achieving a sustainable future will only be possible through the intersection of the best science and technology in combination with the societal, economic, policy, cultural, moral, and ethical ecosystem.

This perspective article reviews the evolution of research practices and challenges reported in the literature for the use of ultrasound (US) and microwave (MW) in greener chemical processes.

This tutorial review highlights representative examples of ionic liquid (IL)-based (bio)catalytic systems integrating reaction and separation, as a tool for the development of sustainable chemical processes (e.g. IL/scCO₂ biphasic reactors, membrane reactors, nanodrop systems, microfluidic devices, supported IL phases, sponge-like ILs, etc.).

Rise of porous covalent triazine frameworks (CTFs) for sustainable applications.

N-Formylation of amines or nitroarenes in water, polyethylene glycol, and ionic liquids, as well as under solvent-free conditions, is summarized.

Here we report the oxidative dehydrogenation of malic acid to oxaloacetic acid, a key precursor in the fabrication of amino acids, over Pt–Bi/C catalysts.

Nitrogen-rich covalent triazine frameworks (CTFs) were grown in situ onto surface-functionalized carbon nanotubes. These novel hybrid catalysts electrochemically reduce CO₂ to CO with a faradaic efficiency up to 81% at an overpotential of 380 mV.

Focus on humins, a co-product from sugar conversion, to highlight their capacity to impregnate wood cell walls for making durable wood products.

A cheap, scalable and efficient nickel catalyst on nitrogen-doped carbon for the aqueous-phase hydrogenation of biomass-derived compounds in flow system.

The potentiality of acidic deep eutectic solvents for β-O-4 ether bond cleavage is herein demonstrated from a mechanistic point of view.

An efficient reductive amination of phenol with ammonia or amines is demonstrated, for the first time with cheap supported Ni catalysts and without using any additives.

Efficient and selective glucose isomerization to fructose and epimerization to mannose were successfully done over tuneable Ca–Al-based catalysts with controlled basicity.

The production of pentanoic acid from γ-valerolactone and the one-pot route from levulinic acid both over bifunctional catalyst with formic acid as H₂ source is an example for an integrated biorefinery in the direction to an industrial application.

Only few dynamic kinetic resolution (DKR) systems are known for chiral aliphatic amines due to the difficult racemization of these amines.

Water stable Pd-NPs prepared in an eco-friendly manner enable highly efficient catalysis of 6 organic reactions in aqueous media with quantities of Pd down to the ppm level and high turnover frequencies.

Biobased ortho-methoxy groups ameliorate classic bisphenol chemistry in terms of synthesis, safety and processing; bisguaiacol F is used as a test case.

One-pot hydrothermal conversion of biomass into lactic acid over a green heterogeneous bifunctional catalyst.

Furfural was synthesized from hexose sugars instead of 5-HMF by using polar aprotic solvents with very low basicity.

Pt catalysts, especially supported on Al₂O₃, are effective for hydrogenolysis of 2-furancarboxylic acid to 5-hydroxyvaleric acid (5-HVA) and its derivatives (ester and δ-valerolactone), and the highest yield of 5-HVA derivatives was 62%.

Herein, a facile and efficient method was developed to selectively transform glucose into formic acid at room temperature.

The catalytic activity of Sn–Al-USY zeolites is switched from hydrolytic to retro-aldol condensation for the transformation of glucose to methyl lactate.

A new environmentally-friendly and air-tolerant protocol for the Cu-MOF catalysed ATRP of MMA in a biorenewable deep eutectic solvent is reported, with both the solvent and catalyst being recycled up to six consecutive times.

High-surface area Nb₂O₅ nanoparticles synthesised by a novel supercritical-CO₂-assisted method displayed extremely high activity as heterogeneous catalyst in the oxidative coupling of aniline to azoxybenzene using the green oxidant H₂O₂.

During reductive catalytic fractionation of black locust bark, lignin and suberin are simultaneously depolymerized and stabilized. This results in low MW phenolics and long-chain, α,ω-bifunctional aliphatics.

A new green and efficient approach for valorization of monosaccharides into value added chemicals by forming a eutectic medium between reactants.

Leaching the industrial jarosite residue with pure methanesulfonic acid resulted in a solid–liquid separation of iron from dissolved lead and zinc by precipitation.

The reduction of poly and cyclic carbonates in the presence of an earth abundant metal catalyst using isopropanol as the hydrogen donor is reported.

A three-step process to synthesize quinaldic acids from furfural was established.

Base-free, multifunctional heterogenous catalytic systems for the highly efficient conversion of glycerol into methyl lactate.

A process based on mechanochemistry and aging under humidity affords high molecular weight chitosan under safe conditions from chitin.