Abstract
Faced with an alarming ecological diagnosis, it is urgent to change our modes of operation and production towards mutual and harmonious growth of the economy and natural ecosystems. We show how solutions inspired by, or even based on, nature, to conserve and restore ecosystems threatened by human activities, can be a source of new solutions for a chemistry that respects Nature. Indeed, the remarkable capacity of certain plant species to adapt to the stresses to which they are subjected generates biomasses with unique and unusual mineral structures. It is possible to transform the minerals of plant species into biosourced metal catalysts for inorganic and organic chemistry. This original approach is the first example of metallic chemical catalysis of plant origin: ecocatalysis. Ecocatalysis has brought about a paradigm shift: biomasses brimming with transition metals for restoring soils, depolluting aquatic systems and protecting wetlands are not waste products, but natural ecosystem restoration systems with high added value for preparing molecules useful to our health and well-being, and for fine chemistry. This makes it possible to support ecological solutions, by transforming the plant biomasses generated into essential raw materials for sustainable chemistry - ecocatalysts. The use of these eco-catalysts in organic chemistry is carried out with an unrivalled environmental commitment that goes beyond the principles of green chemistry.
