Abstract

The environmental impact of chemical processeshas become an increasingly important consideration forresearchers in all sectors of the field of chemistry. A majorfocus of this growing awareness is on the reduction of boththe quantity and toxicity of chemical waste, of which organicsolvents constitute the vast majority. The replacement oforganic solvents with water through the aid of micelle-formingsurfactants has already been demonstrated for a number ofreactions, and three new applications of this methodology,involving copper hydride reductions, palladium-catalyzedborylations, and Negishi-like couplings of alkyl zincs with arylbromides – all conducted in water – are highlighted herein.