Terpenes and Terpenoids: How can we use them?

As one of the twelve fundamental principles of green chemistry, the employed feedstocks in chemical processes received substantial attention over the past decades. These efforts can be attributed to Werpy's 2004 list of top-value-added chemicals from biomass. Conventional fossil-based feedstocks are both depleting and environmentally damaging, leading to the transition towards renewable, bio-based platform chemicals. Terpenes and terpenoids are a group of bio-based compounds well known throughout the scientific community. Although their acquirement from natural feedstocks is well known, comprehensive overviews of their applications in synthetic chemistry remain limited. Herein, a full comprehensive overview of the reported chemistry with terpenes is provided, while specifically highlighting their reactivity. Fifteen of the most common and useful monoterpenes and terpenoids are discussed, followed by a list of the remaining known compounds belonging to this group. These fifteen compounds have been employed in a vast number of chemical transformations with different applications including: polymerizations, total syntheses, chiral reagents/auxiliaries, pharmaceuticals, and chemical conversion to other useful bio-based chemicals. The presented chemistry in this work aims to provide chemists with a useful tool that should facilitate and stimulate the search for more sustainable, renewable, and environmentally friendly starting points for novel synthesis routes.