Electrochemical ‘game-changer’ could make aniline production greener
Sustainable production of important feedstock for dyes, drugs and herbicides is scalable
A new electrocatalytic method to produce anilines could offer a more environmentally sustainable way to make these commodity chemicals, widely used to make many products, including herbicides, drugs and dyes.
Aniline was first isolated from the plant-derived indigo pigment in 1826 by Otto Unverdorben. But it wasn’t until William Perkin serendipitously discovered the synthetic purple dye aniline mauve, or mauvine, from coal-tar in 1856 that its commercial potential was realised, giving rise to the modern synthetic chemistry industry.