Gregory B. Dudley: Selective Microwave Heating of Organic Reactions

Dr. Dudley, an Organic Chemistry Professor and the Associate Chair of the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department at Florida State University, gave a talk on October 3^rd, 2014 at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. In this seminar he expressed his research interest in microwave electromagnetic radiation as possibly a better way of driving synthetic organic reactions. 

Microwave energy produces heat by different physical mechanisms than conventional convective heating, and this mechanisms “need to be understood in order for us to gain maximum benefit from this new technology”.
To explain this possible potential of microwave heating, Dr. Dudley started his presentation with a brief history of this relatively new practice. The heating properties of microwave heating were discovered by accident in 1947, but it was only in 1986 that these properties were applied in chemistry. Other important practices of MW heating were mentioned in the beginning of this seminar without leaving behind the literature citations of other scientists expressing their disagreement with his research.

Later Dr. Dudley described a physical model for selective heating in homogeneous solution and reaction systems in which “microwavespecific rate enhancements have been documented both qualitatively and quantitatively.” To test and validate their hypothesis, his research group tried to demonstrate MW effects in homogeneous solutions, and quantify deviations from temperature-based Arrhenius predictions. 

For more information about Dr. Dudley or his research you can visit this website:

http://www.chem.fsu.edu/dudley/index.html

There are also four videos of Dr. Dudley giving the same presentation that can be found here:

• http://www.geoset.info/presentation/microwave-chemistry-introduction-your-dial-goes-up-to-11/
• http://www.geoset.info/presentation/part-1-selective-microwave-heating-design-and-theory/
• http://www.geoset.info/presentation/part-2-selective-microwave-heating-of-an-ionic-reagent/
• http://www.geoset.info/presentation/part-3-selective-microwave-heating-of-a-polar-reaction-substrate/

Picture Reference:

Rosana, M. R.; Hunt, J.; Ferrari, A.; Southworth, T.; Tao, Y.; Stiegman, A. E.; Dudley, G. B.

• Microwave-Specific Acceleration of a Friedel–Crafts Reaction: Evidence for Selective Heating in Homogeneous Solution.

• J. Org. Chem. 2014, 79, 7437-7450.