Synthesis of organic compounds and polymers is at the core of many manufacturing industries. The new "electrifying synthesis" methods that can combine conventional synthetic chemistry with electrochemistry are a step closer to a sustainable tomorrow. These reactions don't require potentially harmful chemical reagents. They achieve organic synthesis by simply using electrons from an electric power source to conduct redox reactions.
Credit: Tokyo Tech Apart from being environmentally-friendly, these reactions can also be made more or less selective by fine-tuning the electric potentials. However, their dependence on a power supply limits their application in unpowered locations such as aerospace and the deep sea. The solution to this self-contradictory problem was presented by a team of researchers led by Prof. Shinsuke Inagi from the Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech), Japan. In their recent study published in Communications Chemistry, the team provided a proof-of-concept for electrochemical polymerization of organic aromatic monomers without an external power supply. Prof. Inagi explains, "We have seen a huge leap in the development of electrochemical reactors for carrying out organic synthesis, but most of them require a power source. We wanted to build a power-independent system to make the process more accessible. And we found the answer to our quest in streaming potential-driven electrochemistry." What exactly is this streaming potential that Prof. Inagi mentions? When an electrolyte flows through…