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Microwave Technology--Applications in Chemical Synthesis
Citation:
Varma, R. Microwave Technology--Applications in Chemical Synthesis . Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology. John Wiley & Sons, Inc, Hoboken, NJ, 16:538-594, (2013).
Impact/Purpose:
Submitted for publication in on-line version of Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology by John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Description:
Microwave heating, being specific and instantaneous, is unique and has found a place for expeditious chemical syntheses. Specifically, the solvent-free reactions are convenient to perform and have advantages over the conventional heating protocols as summarized in the previous sections. A wide range of selective functional group transformations have been accomplished expeditiously and efficiently using a variety of supported reagents on mineral oxides as catalysts. The eco-friendly advantages of these solvent-free protocols can be found in instances where catalytic amounts of reagents or supported agents are used since they provide reduction or elimination of solvents, thus preventing pollution ‘at source’. Further scale-up developments on such themes, especially which deploy environmentally friendly reaction media, will go a long way in realizing the sustainable goals in the chemical arena including the synthesis of nanomaterials and nano-catalysts. The major limitation for MW-assisted reactions can be overcome by translating batch microwave chemistry to continuous flow mode. More recent ‘microwave-to-flow’ endeavors, wherein conventionally heated and suitably equipped fluidic flow devices may help produce meaningful amounts of chemical products in a continuous mode. This is especially true for the use of magnetic nano catalysis in flow chemistry which a has tremendous potential to grow in this sustainable endeavor as the nanoparticle-bound magnetic catalysts can be confined and at the same time agitated in a reactor by a rotating magnetic field, thus, avoiding potential problems of clogging membranes or filters that are commonly used as barriers for immobilized catalysts.
