Sustainable and efficient electrosynthesis of naproxen using carbon dioxide and ionic liquids.

The use of CO as a C1 carbon source for synthesis is raising increasing attention both as a strategy to bring value to carbon dioxide capture technologies and a sustainable approach towards chemicals and energy. The presented results focus on the application of electrochemical methods to incorporate CO into organic compounds using ionic liquids as electrolytes, which provides a green alternative to the formation of C-C bonds. In this sense, the current manuscript shows that Naproxen (6-Methoxy-α-methyl-2-naphthaleneacetic acid) can be synthetizing in high yield (89%) and conversion rates (90%) through an electrocarboxylation process using CO and ionic liquids. The role of the cathode and solvent, which can potentially enhance the synthesis, is also discussed. The "green" route described in the current work would open a new sustainable strategy for the electrochemical production of pharmaceutical compounds.