New Directions in Sustainable Organic Synthesis: The Role of Natural Raw Materials and Heterogeneous Catalysts
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Chemical Engineering and Technology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2025 | Viewed by 775
Special Issue Editors
Interests: research on modern and sustainable oxidation and isomerization processes of organic compounds on heterogeneous catalysts (especially on catalysts of natural origin, e.g., zeolites), including processes in which are used organic raw materials derived from biomass, obtaining raw materials for synthesis in organic chemistry from plant material, searching for new applications of compounds of natural origin and their derivatives, chromatographic analyses (GC, GC/MS, column chromatography, TLC), FTIR and UV–vis
Interests: research on modern methods of heterogeneous catalysis, with a particular focus on the use of naturally derived catalysts in synthetic processes, as well as the topic of sustainable chemistry; exploring ways to use natural raw materials in organic synthesis
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The aim of this Special issue will be to present the latest directions of research on “green and sustainable organic processes” conducted both on a laboratory and an industrial scale (low-volume productions) using raw materials of plant origin and heterogeneous catalysts. Among the heterogeneous catalysts, special attention will be paid to catalysts of natural origin, including also their modified and synthetic equivalents. Research on the processes of transformation of compounds of natural origin will be related to determining the most favorable parameters for conducting these processes, making it possible to obtain the highest values of functions describing these processes such as the conversion of organic raw materials or the selectivity and yield of products. Organic processes conducted using raw materials of natural origin are environmentally friendly and are often cheaper and less energy-consuming; therefore, it is worth developing research on them. Moreover, it should be emphasized that the use of these processes makes it possible to obtain valuable compounds with numerous applications in many branches of industry.
Contemporary directions in the development of “green and sustainable processes” enables the synthesis of organic compounds, both on a laboratory and an industrial scale, are related to the constant search for cheap raw materials and effective catalysts for these syntheses. Raw materials for organic syntheses may be obtained from plants, for example terpene compounds, and, thanks to this, such raw materials are renewable and the new methods for the synthesis organic compounds that are being developed on the basis such raw materials meet the requirements of sustainable development. Examples of such compounds that can be obtained from biomass, often waste products, are: limonene, a-pinene, or geraniol. Catalysts used in organic syntheses may be heterogeneous catalysts of natural origin (for example, minerals, including zeolites), which are relatively easily available and cheap. Their great advantage is that they can be relatively easily modified. Knowing the structure of these materials of natural origin, it is also possible to obtain their synthetic equivalents with increased catalytic activity. Products obtained as a result of the catalytic transformations of natural compounds also meet the principle of sustainable development and are the basis for the development of many branches of industry. This Special Issue focuses on modern methods of carrying out syntheses of organic compounds based on materials of plant origin and heterogeneous catalysts. Moreover, this Special Issue seeks to reveal possible directions of application for the compounds obtained using these methods. In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome and research areas may include, but are not limited to:
- Processes of synthesis of organic compounds based on compounds of natural origin and heterogeneous catalysts;
- Obtaining raw materials of plant origin for organic syntheses;
- Materials of natural origin for applications as catalysts in organic syntheses;
- Modified materials of natural origin for use as catalysts in organic syntheses;
- Synthetic equivalents of materials of natural origin for use as catalysts in organic syntheses;
- Applications of products of catalytic transformations of natural compounds.
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Prof. Dr. Agnieszka Wróblewska
Dr. Anna Fajdek-Bieda
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- raw materials of plant origin
- minerals
- heterogeneous catalysts
- catalytic transformations of compounds of plant origin
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
