In drug discovery, microwaves are common tools for heating reactions to high temperatures and pressures so that it is possible to synthesize compounds in minutes that might otherwise take hours by conventional heating.However, another environment where this is a considerable advantage is in the teaching laboratory. By greatly speeding reaction rates, students can try multi-step synthesis is a single day, and look at the effect of altering reaction conditions on products and yields.
The microwave reaction tutorial discusses the use of microwaves in teaching labs, and shows some example reactions – download your copy now!