An electrical switch to control chemical reactions

A team from the University of Geneva has developed an electrical device that makes it easy to activate chemical reactions in a 'greener' way. The device takes the form of a small box in which the reaction medium circulates between two electrodes producing the electric field. Stefan Matile New pharmaceuticals, cleaner fuels, biodegradable plastics: in order to meet society's needs, chemists have to develop new synthesis methods to obtain new products that do not exist in their natural state. A research group at the University of Geneva , in collaboration with Cardiff University, has discovered how to use an external electric field to control and accelerate a chemical reaction, like a ''switch''. This work, to be read in Science Advances , could have a considerable impact on the development of new molecules, enabling not only more environmentally friendly synthesis, but also very simple external control of a chemical reaction. In chemistry, creating complex organic chemical compounds from simpler reagents is denoted ''organic synthesis''. Through successive reactions, chemists assemble small molecules to ultimately form the desired products.