Although fire is now rarely used in synthetic chemistry, it was not until Robert Bunsen invented the burner in 1855 that the energy from this heat source could be applied to a reaction vessel in a focused manner. The Bunsen burner was later superseded by the isomantle, oil bath, or hot plate as a source for applying heat to a chemical reaction. In the past few years, heating and driving chemical reactions by microwave energy has been an increasingly popular theme in the scientific community. This nonclassical heating technique is slowly moving from a laboratory curiosity to an established technique that is heavily used in both academia and industry. The efficiency of "microwave flash heating" in dramatically reducing reaction times (from days and hours to minutes and seconds) is just one of the many advantages. This Review highlights recent applications of controlled microwave heating in modern organic synthesis, and discusses some of the underlying phenomena and issues involved.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/anie.200400655

Controlled microwave heating in modern organic synthesis.

Microwave assisted organic synthesis-a review

Microwave irradiation has been successfully applied in organic chemistry. Spectacular accelerations, higher yields under milder reaction conditions and higher product purities have all been reported. Indeed, a number of authors have described success in reactions that do not occur by conventional heating and even modifications of selectivity (chemo-, regio- and stereoselectivity). The effect of microwave irradiation in organic synthesis is a combination of thermal effects, arising from the heating rate, superheating or “hot spots” and the selective absorption of radiation by polar substances. Such phenomena are not usually accessible by classical heating and the existence of non-thermal effects of highly polarizing radiation—the “specific microwave effect”—is still a controversial topic. An overview of the thermal effects and the current state of non-thermal microwave effects is presented in this critical review along with a view on how these phenomena can be effectively used in organic synthesis.

Microwaves in organic synthesis. thermal and non-thermal microwave effects

Microwave assisted organic reactions

CuI‐Catalyzed Alkyne–Azide “Click” Cycloadditions from a Mechanistic and Synthetic Perspective

Secondary α and β hydrogen–deuterium kinetic isotope effects have been used together to show that the SN reaction between 1-phenylethyldimethylphenylammonium ion and bromide or iodide ion in chloroform occurs by way of an SN2 mechanism within a triple ion in spite of the fact that it reacts faster than the primary substrate, benzyldimethylphenylammonium bromide. The very loose transition state and steric effects in the ground state appear to be responsible for the unusually fast SN2 reactions between 1-phenylethyldimethylphenylammonium ion and halide ions in chloroform.

Isotope effects in nucleophilic substitution reactions. V. The mechanism of the decomposition of 1-phenylethyldimethylphenylammonium halides in chloroform

Isotopic labelling studies have shown that the E2 reaction of 1-chloro-2-phenylethane with potassium tert-butoxide in tert-butyl alcohol occurs via an anti-periplanar stereochemistry. This demonstr...

Using secondary alpha deuterium kinetic isotope effects to determine the stereochemistry of an E2 reaction; the stereochemistry of the E2 reaction of 1-chloro-2-phenylethane with potassium tert-butoxide in tert-butyl alcohol

Kenneth Charles Westaway

Papers

Isotope effects in nucleophilic substitution reactions. V. The mechanism of the decomposition of 1-phenylethyldimethylphenylammonium halides in chloroform

Using secondary alpha deuterium kinetic isotope effects to determine the stereochemistry of an E2 reaction; the stereochemistry of the E2 reaction of 1-chloro-2-phenylethane with potassium tert-butoxide in tert-butyl alcohol

Solvent effects on ion pairing of tetra‐n‐butylammonium cyanide. A conductometric study

The Rapid Synthesis of Organic Compounds in Microwave Ovens. Part 2.

The effect of conjugation on the magnitude of secondary alpha deuterium kinetic isotope effects