Green chemistry has been established since the early 1990s and today has an important role to play in different areas. The purpose is to reduce the use and generation of toxic substances, increase the efficiency of processes, and at the same time reduce the negative impact of substances and processes on the environment and people. It is based on twelve principles that dictate how processes and the production of new compounds should be carried out and how raw materials should be used in an efficient but, at the same time, cautious and environmentally friendly way. Green chemistry goal and focus is to minimize the use of toxic and flammable solvents. We can attain this by using less harmful alternatives such as ionic liquids, water, supercritical fluids, non-toxic liquid polymers, and deep eutectic solvents.
In my thesis, I did a literature review of natural deep eutectic solvents (NADES), a subclass of deep eutectic solvents. I defined NADES, described their composition, and gave some examples of the components that they consist of. I described several different ways of preparing NADES, investigated their toxicity and biodegradability, and described their most important properties, such as density, viscosity, solubility, and others, as well as investigating how the addition of water affects these properties. I also explored their role in nature and their use. The focus of the thesis is on the use of NADES in chemical synthesis processes. For each case, I have described in more detail the reactions that take place in this synthesis, the reagents used, the conditions under which the reaction takes place, and the products formed. I have also tried to find out what role NADES play in each of these reactions and how their presence affects the yield of the reaction and the environment. Finally, I summarized the advantages of using NADES as green solvents in chemical synthesis processes.
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