[The Nicolas Lémery’s mechanistic approach to chemistry].

Nicolas Lémery was the first chemist to have a mechanistic approach to chemistry. Starting from the acids-bases theory in which two chemicals react with each other in a battle between the pointed acids and the porous bases, he expands his vision to the chemical reaction, which is for him the merging and the transformation of two protagonists into a new identity, resulting in a relationship between the microscopic and the macroscopic.

Surface-modified carbon felts: possible supports for combinatorial chemistry.

It is possible to prepare carbon-based analogues of the Merrifield resin by electrochemical reduction of diazonium salts or oxidation of aryl acetates on high specific surface area carbon felts. These modified felts can undergo further reactions: nucleophilic substitution, Suzuki reaction, and finally reductive electrochemical cleavage, taking advantage of the conductivity of the carbon felt. This provides a simple example of the possible use of electrochemistry in combinatorial synthesis.