Biomass-Derived, Target Specific, and Ecologically Safer Insecticide Active Ingredients

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Chemistry
• Organic Synthesis
• Sustainable Chemistry

Background:

• Conventional pesticides pose environmental risks, necessitating sustainable alternatives.
• Biomass-derived compounds offer a renewable source for developing eco-friendly crop protection agents.
• Furfural and vanillin are key platform chemicals derivable from biomass.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize novel amide-based insecticidal active ingredients from biomass-derived monomers.
• To evaluate the insecticidal activity and ecotoxicity of these new compounds.
• To assess the economic viability of the developed biobased insecticides.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis via reductive amination followed by carbonylation of furfural and vanillin.
• Recyclable catalysts (Rh/Al2O3 and La(OTf)3) were employed in the synthesis.
• Insecticidal activity was determined by LC50 values, and ecotoxicity was predicted for non-target species.

Main Results:

• A furfural-based carbamate insecticide was synthesized with an 88% yield.
• The biobased carbamate demonstrated insecticidal performance comparable to carbofuran (LC50: 254.22 vs 251.25 μg/cm2).
• Significantly lower ecotoxicity was predicted for non-target aquatic and terrestrial organisms.

Conclusions:

• Biomass-derived carbamates represent a viable and sustainable alternative to conventional pesticides.
• The synthetic strategy is adaptable to other biobased aldehydes, creating a diverse range of potential insecticides.
• Techno-economic analysis indicates a competitive selling price, highlighting economic feasibility.