Interpretation of the Effects of Microwaves

Abstract

During the past three decades of microwave (MW) assisted organic chemistry, the initial observations of unexpected reaction behavior obtained in MW reactors grew to a general understanding of MW effects. This chapter aims to present the currently accepted theories of MW rate enhancements, and a few of the main steps leading to today’s understanding of these phenomena. Modern experimental techniques in MW chemistry revealed the fundamental role of temperature in interpreting the outcome of MW heated experiments. However, temperature can be realized on different spatial scales, which will be used as the basis of our classification. This way, the phenomena associated with MW heating are differentiated between macroscopic and microscopic effects, both of which will be discussed in detail.