Creation of Novel Green Surfactants Containing Carbonate Linkages

Chemistry has a key role to play in maintaining and improving our quality of life, such as in medicine, materials and electronics. However, it has also caused damage to human health and the natural environment. To make chemistry compatible with human health and the environ‐ ment, Anastas and Warner have proposed 12 principles of green chemistry, which help to explain what it means in practice [1]. The principles cover a wide range of concepts, such as the molecular design and synthetic routes of product and the best means of waste disposal. In recent years, the establishment of a new field of green chemistry has been recognized as a necessary goal for sustainable development. The greening of chemistry will be realized by the discovery and development of new synthetic routes using renewable resources, reaction conditions and catalysts for improved selectivity and energy minimization, and the design of bio-/environmentally compatible chemicals. On the basis of these concepts, green polymer chemistry [2-4], synthetic organic chemistry using environmentally friendly processes [5,6] and technology for the production of bio-based product [7] have so far been developed and improved.