The Philosophy of Green Chemistry as Applied to the Microscale Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory

Abstract

The advantages of using microscale chemistry in the laboratory are well known, especially in the area of Organic Chemistry (Mayo et al., 1994). These include lower experiment costs, reduced exposure to potentially toxic materials, shorter reaction times, smaller waste disposal costs, and lower construction costs. These benefits are strongly applicable to the inorganic chemistry laboratory, where high chemical costs, toxicity issues and long reaction times often combine to ensure that many interesting experiments cannot be performed at all.