Following the work already carried out in our laboratory on eucalyptol, a new green solvent derived from biomass, we are now looking at sabinene as another new green solvent. Sabinene is also derived from biomass, has no known toxicity and can be recycled by distillation. We have shown that it can be used as it is or distilled to synthesize thiazolo[5,4-b]pyridine heterocycles by thermal activation or microwave irradiation. This new solvent was compared with various conventional and green solvents. The conditions were optimised to enable us to carry out the syntheses in satisfactory yields, and we were able to show that sabinene, a natural bicyclic monoterpene, could be used effectively as a solvent.
Keywords: bicyclic N,S-heterocycles; biomass-based green solvents; sabinene; sustainable chemistry.