Sustainable and efficient electrosynthesis of naproxen using carbon dioxide and ionic liquids

The use of CO2 as a Cl carbon source for synthesis is raising increasing attention both as a strategy to bring value to carbon dioxide capture technologies and a sustainable approach towards chemicals and energy. The presented results focus on the application of electrochemical methods to incorporate CO2 into organic compounds using ionic liquids as electrolytes, which provides a green alternative to the formation of C-C bonds. In this sense, the current manuscript shows that Naproxen (6-Methoxy-alpha-methyl-2-naphthaleneacetic acid) can be synthetizing in high yield (89%) and conversion rates (90%) through an electrocarboxylation process using CO2 and ionic liquids. The role of the cathode and solvent, which can potentially enhance the synthesis, is also discussed. The "green" route described in the current work would open a new sustainable strategy for the electrochemical production of pharmaceutical compounds. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.