Tilden Lecture. Applications of microwave dielectric heating effects to synthetic problems in chemistry

This review has presented the principles underlying the dielectric heating effects observed for chemical compounds in solution and in the solid state. The applications of the technique to a wide range of chemical syntheses have also been indicated. The field is in its infancy and therefore much of the effort to date has been directed towards understanding the rate enhancements of known reactions. The next few years should see the isolation of new compounds using microwave heating techniques