Formic acid is a main product from biomass-derived carbohydrates and is attracting ever more attention as a sustainable hydrogen source, owing to its high volumetric hydrogen density of 53 g of H₂ per liter. In this review, we give an overview of the formic acid mediated transformations of biomass-based feedstocks into added-value products, including biofuels; attention will be primarily focused on the transformation of biomass-derived platform chemicals, with an emphasis on levulinic acid. Formic-acid mediated lignin depolymerization and biomass-oil upgrading will be also discussed.

Green chemistry and flow chemistry are ideal partners for accessing novel chemical spaces and define highly efficient synthetic tools.

This review summarizes the development of user-friendly, recyclable and easily separable heterogeneous catalysts for C–H activation during the last decade until December 2015.

Dipolar aprotic solvents (DMSO, DMF, DMAc, NMP, etc.) have been widely used in organic synthesis and pharmaceutical research because of their remarkable polarities and solubilities, while most of them are not green because of their detrimental effects on human health and hazards to the natural environment caused by their inescapable toxicity as well as large wastewater streams and high-energy-input requirements. This dangerous situation is further complicated by the surging demand of dipolar aprotic solvents in the research and development in the pharmaceutical industry and other chemical processes. Therefore, minimizing and avoiding the use of such solvents has become one of the most important facets of green chemistry. So far, substantial efforts have been devoted in response to this problem that has entailed the development of green and novel reaction systems that fulfill numerous requirements, which are also met by traditional dipolar aprotic solvents. In this context, this review summarizes the methods and strategies for replacing non-green polar aprotic solvents, which mainly include direct replacement with new green alternatives and utilization of polarized catalysts in common green solvents for avoiding the use of conventional polar aprotic solvents. Besides, the strengths and weaknesses of these two strategies are analyzed. Compared with the direct replacement strategy, the rational design of polarized catalysts not only expands the choice of green solvents, but also provides new possibilities for the design and preparation of multifunctional catalysts, suggesting a promising prospect in substitution strategies for non-green polar aprotic solvents. Certainly, other methods are being explored to realize the green and sustainable replacement of conventional dipolar aprotic solvents in an economical and handy tactic.

Poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) remains of significant importance as a prototypical benchmark hole conductor material in Organic Photovoltaics (OPVs). In this review we discuss synthetic strategies to P3HT, particularly focusing on those leading to the regioregular form and discussing key physical and morphological properties. Finally, a survey and a brief discussion of P3HT performance in bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) OPVs are also provided.