Organic carbonates as green media from laboratory syntheses to industrial applications

Abstract

The research for greener solvents is of paramount importance when aiming to a sustainable process. In order to be able to replace traditional hazardous media, green solvents must display negligible environmental effects, biological degradability while at the same time being available in large scale and exhibit comparable or even superior performances compared to currently employed media. In this scenario, organic carbonates (OCs) are among the most prominent since they are commercially available at good price, and they also offer a broad range of tunable proprieties that render them usable for a wide range of applications. From these premises, the herein proposed review focuses on OCs used as green media from laboratory synthetic approaches to industrial applications. According to our literature screening that covered the last 40 years, organic carbonates are mostly investigated as electrolyte solvents (23%), media in organic synthesis (21%) and as solvents for extraction of compounds from different biological and non-biological matrices (13%). Nevertheless, OCs have found applications in several other fields spanning from analytical chemistry to the biological/biochemical area up to the restoration of ancient manufacts. Most of the OCs used in these applications are dialkyl carbonates (DACs) commercially available at cheap prices, i.e., dimethyl carbonate (DMC), propylene carbonate (PC) and ethylene carbonate (EC). However, thanks to simple procedures, new custom-made organic carbonates have been synthetized and used for membrane casting, for polymers and plasticizers preparations, surface modifications of materials and as electrolytes in Li-ion batteries. Organic carbonates go beyond simply replacing toxic solvents; they offer an opportunity to transform a varierty of processes into sustainable practices. From enhancing battery performance 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 a valuable tool for researchers and industries aiming to develop more sustainable processes.