Method for selection of solvents for promotion of organic reactions

A method to select appropriate green solvents for the promotion of a class of organic reactions has been developed. The method combines knowledge from industrial practice and physical insights with computer-aided property estimation tools for selection/design of solvents. In particular, it employs estimates of thermodynamic properties to generate a knowledge base of reaction, solvent and environment related properties that directly or indirectly influence the rate and/or conversion of a given reaction. Solvents are selected using a rules-based procedure where the estimated reaction-solvent properties and the solvent-environmental properties guide the decision making process. The current method is applicable only to organic reactions occurring in the liquid phase. Another gas or solid phase, which may or may not be at equilibrium with the reacting liquid phase, may also be present. The objective of this method is to produce, for a given reaction, a short list of chemicals that could be considered as potential solvents, to evaluate their performance in the reacting system, and, based on this, to rank them according to a scoring system. Several examples of application are given to illustrate the main features and steps of the method. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.