Organic Reactivities in BioRenewable Solvents

Reactivity studies for organic reactions have so far mainly been done in classical organic solvents (dichloromethane, acetonitrile, DMSO) which need oil or gas as feedstock, are hazardous and cause problems with the waste treatment.

Given that almost all organic synthesis protocols need to be revised in a post-oil/gas era, non-toxic sustainable-by-design solvents which are based on renewable, plant-based raw materials will rapidly gain importance. Without reactivity data, however, an informed re-design of organic synthesis is impossible.

ResolveByBio will deliver the data for defining the scope of electrophile-nucleophile reactions in biobased solvents, which will be used in the future. EU-located chemical suppliers have recently started to commercialize some of these biobased solvents.

Though they have been considered expensive, the steep increase of prices for oil&gas-based chemicals makes them more and more attractive. Once established, scaling effects will make bio-based solvents strong price competitors of conventional solvents.

However, these bio-based solvents are still awaiting broader acceptance in academia and commercial chemical applications.

Integrating them in the currently most comprehensive reactivity scales (Mayr's Database of Reactivity Parameters) will foster their applications and significantly contribute to reducing the negative impacts of chemistry research and businesses on the environment.

Thus, the data generated by the proposed project will deliver important building blocks for the conversion of the EU chemistry towards reaching the goals of the EU Green Deal by empowering chemists with the some of the most fundamental data that are required to change chemical processes.