The researchers discovered that alumina can be repeatedly reused for this reaction if it is washed with water and dried between usages. This recycling reduces both the need for more alumina and the amount of waste produced, lowering synthesis costs and the impact on the environment. As global environmental awareness continues to increase, the researchers hope that this new method of chemical synthesis will contribute towards realizing a carbon neutral society and achieving the SDGs.

This discovery was made by an international research group, which included Associate Professor Tsuda Akihiko of Kobe University Graduate School of Science (who is also a visiting professor at Inner Mongolia Medical University) and researchers from Inner Mongolia Medical University, including Professor Chaolu Eerdun (who obtained their Ph.D. from Kobe University's Graduate School of Science) and Lecturer Liang Fengying.

A patent application for this method was filed in China in April 2021, with a priority claim application made in September of the same year. Subsequently, the results of this research were published online in the academic journal ChemistryOpen on May 18, 2022.

Alumina (Al₂O₃) is an aluminum oxide mainly used as a raw material for the production of aluminum (Figure 1). However, it is also utilized as a catalyst in the field of organic synthetic chemistry. It is mainly used for reactions that require harsh conditions (such as high temperature or high pressure). However, alumina is not a commonly-used catalyst for various reasons, one being that it can only be used for a small range of chemical reactions. Alumina is also used to adsorb impurities in the organic synthesis field and as a stationary phase substance in chromatography. However, issues such as its high cost as a raw material and the large amount of non-burnable waste it generates means that there is a trend towards replacing it with substitutes. Under these circumstances, Professor Tsuda led a research group at Inner Mongolia University (China) that succeeded in developing a new, sustainable method of organic synthesis using alumina, which China produces in great quantities.