Green Solvents in Organic Synthesis: An Overview II

The widespread use of toxic and volatile organic solvents poses a serious threat to the environment and in consequence to people. Hence, a lot of alternative processes as well as more efficient recycling protocols have been developed to avoid the used organic solvents in the last decades. Unfortunately, also these alternative processes and recycling protocols also limitations. Therefore, the authors review different environmentally benign solvent alternatives. This report focuses on reactions using 2-methyltetrahydrofuran, ethyl lactate, cyclopentyl methyl ether, limonene and p-cymene, as well as solvent-free organic synthesis as an alternative to conventional organic solvents. Keywords: Green solvents, green chemistry, alternative solvents, 2-methyltetrahydrofuran, ethyl lactate, CPME, limonene and p-cymene, solvent-free organic synthesis.