Sustainability Assessment of Mechanochemistry by Using the Twelve Principles of Green Chemistry

Abstract

In recent years, mechanochemistry has been growing into a widely accepted alternative for chemical synthesis. In addition to their efficiency and practicality, mechanochemical reactions are also recognized for their sustainability. The association between mechanochemistry and Green Chemistry often originates from the solvent-free nature of most mechanochemical protocols, which can reduce waste production. However, mechanochemistry satisfies more than one of the Principles of Green Chemistry. In this Review we will present a series of examples that will clearly illustrate how mechanochemistry can significantly contribute to the fulfillment of Green Chemistry in a more holistic manner.

Tribochemistry, Mechanical Alloying, Mechanochemistry: What is in a Name?

“…They can act as catalysts of the transformations of the powders which are hit by the balls. Such examples of mechanocatalysis have been documented both for inorganic (Grätz et al, 2020;Li et al, 1999;Chen et al, 2000) and organic (Pickhardt et al, 2020;Haley et al, 2016;Sawama et al, 2018;Cook et al, 2013;Chen et al, 2015;Vogt et al, 2021;Ardila-Fierro and Hernández, 2021) compounds. For example, the oxidative coupling of tetrahydroisoquinolines with nitromethane by vibratory ball milling with solid additive DDQ was facilitated by using Cu milling balls as catalyst rather than adding another catalytic material to the reaction mixture, Figure 13A (Su et al, 2011).…”

Design, Sustainable Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of a Novel Dual α2A/5-HT7 Receptor Antagonist with Antidepressant-Like Properties

“…In the last decade, mechanochemistry, and in particular medicinal mechanochemistry [22,23], has been recognized as an innovative technique for the generation of various organic compounds as well as producing pharmaceutically relevant fragments and functionalities [24][25][26]. Taking into account the benefits of employing a solid-state approach over classic in-batch procedures (i.e., increased reaction yield, reduction of time, decreased use of organic solvents) [27,28], we developed a mechanochemical approach for the synthesis of the designed derivatives 6-19 (Scheme 1). Initially, alkylation of Boc-protected 4-aminopiperidine with the commercially available 7-(2-bromoethoxy)-2,2-dimethyl-2,3-dihydrobenzofuran 1 was carried out in a 10 mL PTFE jar with a 1.5 cm diameter stainless steel ball using a Retsch vibratory ball mill (vbm) operating at 30 Hz.…”

One-step hydroxylation of aryl and heteroaryl fluorides using mechanochemistry

“…Waste solvents present serious environmental issues and mechanochemistry allows the possibility of running chemical reactions under solvent-free conditions, an aspect that also fulfils the principles of green chemistry. 16 In fact, restrictions related to the use of solvents are increasing, 17 as most of the waste generated in chemical processes comes from their use. 18…”