Description
Book SynopsisIt is well-established that organic synthetic processes have been at the core of the chemical industry for hundreds of years, in the production of organic compounds with a wide range of applications. However, we are becoming increasingly aware of the hazardous substances used and generated by these chemical processes. The field of organic synthesis has undergone profound changes to switch to equally efficient, but more sustainable processes that avoid the extensive use of toxic and hazardous reagents and solvents, harsh reaction conditions and expensive and sophisticated catalysts. Explaining methods for carrying out chemical syntheses without the use of catalysts, this book shows how avoiding catalysts during synthesis can mean less use of toxic chemicals, environmentally damaging chemicals or endangered elements and lower costs. It is an important reference for chemists involved in organic synthesis, as well as for green chemists.
Trade ReviewThis book provides a broad overview over state-of-the-art catalyst-free reactions in organic synthesis. It is strongly recommended to chemical researchers as well as interested teachers and students. -- Can Jin; College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, P.R. China. * Green Processing and Synthesis (De Gruyter) *
Since the early 1990s, the concepts of "green" and "sustainable" have gradually entered people's minds and have now gained popular support. They have made notable progress and significant contributions to chemical science and technology. As a significant composition of green chemistry, catalyst-free organic synthesis has been rapidly developed and widely used as it is a straightforward, low cost, convenient process for easy separation and purification. Normally, considerable catalysts are not only expensive but also difficult to recycle and thus can cause a waste of money and environmental pollution. Therefore, the development and application of catalyst-free organic reactions is of great significance and will surely focus the attention of researchers, meanwhile, it must be benefit to the chemical industry and all of us. The book Catalyst-free Organic Synthesis, by Goutam Brahmachari, is divided into 6 Chapters, in which the authors address catalyst-free topics under conditions such as: room temperature, conventional heating, microwave irradiation, ultrasound irradiation and ball milling. It is very comprehensive, and has exhibited the state-of-the-art technology in Green Chemistry. Chapter 1 is an introduction, here the reader can find an overview of the contents of the book. In Chapter 2 the author details lots of catalyst-free organic reactions at room temperature; they are presented well-organized. The reactions in this Chapter belong to the most straightforward, energy-efficient, and environmentally-friendly methods we can imagine and what we need most. Such reactions will certainly become the favorable choice of researchers. In Chapter 3, the author describes the catalyst-free organic reactions under conventional heating conditions. Although needing extra energy, it is still a popular method for chemists as simply heating or refluxing is easy to operate, and can give many synthetically and pharmaceutically useful chemicals. In Chapters 4 and 5, the author summarizes a series of microwave- and ultrasound-assisted catalyst-free organic reactions. They give chemists the ability to succeed in what cannot be achieved under the traditional thermal conditions in very short time, sometimes only a few minutes, so they are more energy efficient. In Chapter 6, the author presents readers with a new branch of research in modern synthetical methods named mechanochemistry together with catalyst-free condition. By input mechanical energy via ball-milling it can greatly promote chemical transformation in solid state. Therefore, it is both catalyst- and solvent-free meaning complete elimination of catalyst and organic solvent during the reaction. As we known the use of large amount of volatile organic solvents in the chemical industry inevitably results in environmental pollution, thus catalyst- and solvent-free reactions are of great interest and should be strongly promoted. All entries include general reaction schemes, representative examples, experimental procedures, product characterization and critical views. Type of reaction, reaction conditions, synthetic strategies and keywords are summarized in each case, so it gives readers impressed information. Furthermore, in complicated examples the reaction mechanism was provided concisely, which makes the readers easier to understand. In conclusion, this book is a great piece of technical literature and unique about “Catalyst-free” because there are many books on “catalyst-based organic synthesis”. In terms of completeness one could recommend to consider in the second edition a broader scenario of reaction classes, e.g. to include “photo-catalyst-free” references. The book provides a broad overview over state-of-the-art catalyst-free reactions in organic synthesis. It is strongly recommended to chemical researchers as well as interested teachers and students, naturally even to those being much involved in catalysis. -- Can Jin; College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, P.R. China. * Green Processing and Synthesis (De Gruyter) *
Table of ContentsCatalyst-free Organic Synthesis: An Introduction; Catalyst-free Organic Reactions with Room Temperature Conditions; Catalyst-free Organic Reactions with Conventional Heating; Catalyst-free Organic Reactions with Microwave Irradiation; Catalyst-free Organic Reactions with Ultrasound Irradiation; Catalyst-free Organic Reactions with Ball-Milling
