Finding the right solvent can radically transform the rate of a reaction. Here, a systematic computational method for the identification of solvents that accelerate kinetics is described. Starting with a quantum mechanical computation of the reaction rate constant in a set of six solvents, a computer-aided approach identifies the best solvent among 1,341, with a 40% increase in reaction rate.
- Heiko Struebing
- Zara Ganase
- Claire S. Adjiman