Categories: Organic Chemistry >> Synthesis >> Microwaves

Microwave-assisted Organic Synthesis - One Hundred Reaction Procedures

Description

Microwave-assisted Organic Synthesis - One Hundred Reaction Procedures provides readers with a broad overview of microwave assisted Organic Synthesis, enabling students and researchers alike to produce more efficient and high yield syntheses while saving time and resources. The work addresses key problems faced by chemistry laboratories in academia and in industry, that of an ever increasing need for procedures which are low-waste, energy efficient, high yield, occur over a short reaction period, and use environmentally friendly solvents. All these factors play an important role in the development of Green Chemistry methods, and in this, Microwave-assisted Organic Synthesis - One Hundred Reaction Procedures is an excellent resource for any library.

Editorial Review

"Microwave-assisted Organic Synthesis - One Hundred Reaction Procedures" by Dariusz Bogdal is an ideal book for making the theoretical background and potential of microwave (MW) chemistry more approachable for students. The introductory sections on theory are easy to understand. General procedures and operating instructions for selected specific processes help to familiarize students with the possibilities and sources of risk in MW synthesis.

The 100 specific examples cover a wide range of chemical transformations. The reactions are organized according to synthesis techniques such as "Solvent-free Phase Transfer Catalysis Reactions", which makes it possible to assign a specific experiment to each student in a group. The reactions presented are not to be taken as general procedures; rather, an exemplary transformation is mentioned in each case, and the breadth is only apparent after consulting the literature citations. The procedures can be readily assimilated by students, since they consistently appear with a recipe-style summary that lists the safety notes, equipment employed and the weights of the chemicals used.

The use of sealed vessels is consistently ruled out. The reactions can be carried out with simple MW oven systems, which are described in the text only as "single-mode" or "multi-mode" with the power rating specified. Owing to the simplicity of the experiments and the high level of detail provided in the procedures, they proceed with a high success rate, even though the reproducibility must generally be taken with a grain of salt.

"Microwave-assisted Organic Synthesis" is an introduction to the subject, and makes it possible for students to become familiar with simple microwave-related techniques. To be sure, experiments that run over a period of minutes instead of hours greatly shorten the waiting time in an introductory laboratory course. It is left up to the instructors and the university to set the requirements and select from among the experiments presented. If at some point the chemical and technical material presented no longer represent the state of the art, this work will nonetheless provide a rigorous introduction to this technique.

The overall impression is tempered a bit by a few typographical and printing errors. One might also have hoped for both the procedures and the index to include mention of the relevant reaction types (e.g. Michael Addition) in addition to the names of the products. In this way, the instructor would be able to skim through easily and preselect appropriate experiments.

Contents

1. Preface
2. Interaction of microwaves with different materials
3. Microwave effect vs. thermal effect
3.1. Thermal activation during microwave irradiation
3.2. Non-thermal activation during microwave irradiation
4. Microwave equipment
4.1. Microwave generators
4.2. Transmission lines (waveguides)
4.3. Microwave applicators (cavities)
4.4. Microwave reactors
4.5. Temperature monitoring
4.6. Reaction vessels and glassware
5. Techniques for conducting chemical reactions under microwave irradiation
6. Safety precautions on the application of microwaves in laboratory
7. Reactions under microwave conditions
7.1. Reactions in homogenous media
7.2. Reactions of reagents supported on mineral supports
7.3. Solid-liquid solvent-free phase transfer catalysis (PTC) reactions
7.4. Reactions of neat reagents
7.5. Polymerization reactions
8. Concluding remarks