ABSTRACT
. This chapter focuses on some evolving technologies that can lead to improved energy efficiency as well as help in reducing the overall cost of the process. For instance, in a solventless approach, the reactants adsorbed onto the surface of a solid support like zeolite react at a much faster rate under MW irradiation than conventional heating. It is important to note that reactions should be carried out under MW irradiation only if the solvent, reactants, and products are nonflammable. A few representative reactions studied under MW irradiation in water have been highlighted next. Sonochemistry is a cleaner and ecofriendly alternative for conducting chemical reactions with improved selectivity and product yield. Unlike conventional heating, in homogeneous photocatalytic reactions, the absorption of light promotes an electron from the ground state, or the highest occupied molecular orbital, of a molecule to its excited electronic state, or the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital.
