Green Solvents in Organic Synthesis: An Overview

Research concerning green solvents is focused on reducing environmental damages due to the use of toxic solvents in organic chemistry. Hence, there have been developed a lot of solvent-free processes as well as more efficient recycling protocols in the last decades. Unfortunately, these approaches have their limitations. Therefore, the authors review different environmentally benign solvent alternatives. This report highlights reactions using water, fluorous solvents, ionic liquids, organic carbonates, supercritical carbon dioxide, as well as biosolvents instead of conventional organic solvents.