Unrevealing the hidden link between sustainable alkylation and hydrogen transfer processes with alcohols

The goal of increasing the sustainability of the chemical processes is an imperative driving force in both academic and industrial research. This mini-review describes the main evolutions and recent improvements on the basic-catalysed alkylation of aromatics and catalytic transfer hydrogenation processes. In this context, biobased alcohols are both the ideal and most environmentally sustainable alkylating agents for activated aromatic compounds and the most promising reducing agents in alternative to molecular hydrogen. In addition, starting from the same reagents, these two processes have several points in common that can and should be taken into consideration to greatly enhance the sustainability of both pathways.