ABSTRACT
In 1994, an “In This Issue” summary published in the Journal of Chemical Education stated some connections the average layperson might make between chemicals, natural and arti’cial substances, risk, and toxicity.1 These were listed as follows:
Nearly two decades later, such perceptions are perhaps even more prevalent among the general population. Together, they have led to society demanding a reduction in the use of “chemicals.” Companies have indeed been known to advertise personal care items, such as “chemical-free sunscreens,” where zinc oxide and titanium dioxide are the two active ingredients!2 Conversely, “natural” products are routinely viewed in a positive light, being supposedly less toxic, greener, and safer to handle or ingest. Interestingly, with these public misconceptions existing, the chemical community at large has appreciated that much needs to be done to curb extraneous substance use in synthetic procedures. As discussed in Section 1.4, prevention of waste is one of the central tenets of green chemistry.3 In the undergraduate laboratory, reactions can be performed on a semi-microscale or microscale level, rather than on a macroscale level (described as a waste management strategy in Section 7.3.2). Clearly, however, the worldwide demand for pharmaceuticals and other organic materials means this is not a viable option in industry. Rather, an immediate and obvious approach toward large-scale waste reduction is to minimize or eradicate auxiliary substances (those that do not appear in the desired product). A signi’cant ancillary in many processes is the solvent, which usually provides a medium for reactant dissolution. Research into low-solvent or solvent-free reactivity is therefore currently of great interest.
