The amount of time an undergraduate student spends in an undergraduate laboratory is minimal compared to the time many organic synthetic reactions require to set-up, monitor, and work-up. In this project, a microwave was used to synthesize reactions of triarylmethane dyes parallel to traditional synthesis using a heating mantle. Traditional heating required up to 30 hours for synthesis of the target dye, while microwave-assisted heating only took 35 minutes. In the first step of the triarylmethane synthesis, two different conditions were used with microwave-assisted heating: 1) with isopropanol as solvent, and 2) without any solvent. The second condition yielded nearly twice the amount of the product, with no different side reactions. Although the work-up of the products generated with two heating processes was the same, the set-up for the microwave reaction was faster, less cumbersome, and cleaner. Not only does the microwave-assisted heating saves time for undergraduate students and progresses their research faster, but it also saves energy. The amount of energy used to synthesize one dye during this project via microwave-assisted heating was ~ 27 times lower than the traditional heating method.

Microwave-assisted dye synthesis: A more efficient approach for an undergraduate laboratory

249th National Meeting (2015)

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