More and more chemists today are becoming curious about the use of water in organic synthesis, because there are many advantages linked with using such a safe and inexpensive solvent. Although the organic chemist has tended to shy away from using water in the past, it is now imperative that one understands how it might be used in organic synthesis.

Water in Organic Synthesis is essential for the organic chemist in helping gain a thorough appreciation of the latest and most reliable and available methods for using water in organic synthesis. It helps illustrate how water can often be a viable and green solvent in the laboratory.

We would like to provide a logical and didactical structure to format this work. Together with our team of expert authors, we aim to give the ultimate resource for the organic chemist on the topic of water in organic synthesis.

This volume provides the reader with a detailed introduction to the subject: background information, evaluated methods, practical applications, industrial applications, special techniques, and an overview of the latest trends. There is a systematic and comprehensive treatment of the subject and a focus on the provision of pertinent information.

Water is a beautiful solvent, and Water in Organic Synthesis helps not only to illustrate this, but it should also help in inspiring chemists worldwide to find new approaches and techniques for its application in organic synthesis. We can be certain that this topic is going to become the focal point of many future projects and studies across a spectrum of research fields especially if we consider the important role that water plays in nature. Only through a real understanding of how water interacts, its properties, structure, and reactions, can we really begin to appreciate this molecule that is of course of vital importance to humanity.

Shū Kobayashi:

“While most organic reactions have been carried out in organic solvents for a long time, negative aspects of organic solvents have come to the fore recently; many organic solvents are volatile, flammable, sometimes explosive, and have a damaging effect on human health or on the environment. Water is obviously the first choice of alternative solvent; water is clean, non-toxic, inexpensive, and the most environmentally benign. Water is really beautiful in nature, reactions are carried out in water in our bodies, mainly catalyzed by enzymes. Why should mankind not choose to use water in synthesis?”

This Volume is also available as a Workbench Edition in softcover.

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