A Greener Approach to Aspirin Synthesis Using Microwave Irradiation

Microwave irradiation provides a way for flash heating as an alternative to standard thermal heating in chemical reactions. This technology has been employed to drastically reduce reaction times and even modify selectivity. In addition to this feature, the use of microwave irradiation may outperform conventional reaction conditions in other aspects, such as easier workup, reduction of the usual thermal degradation products, reduction of toxic and expensive quantities of solvents (green chemistry), and reduction of secondary products. Also, microwave irradiation has proven to be of benefit particularly for reactions under dry media (i.e., in the absence of solvents or solid support) and reactions without catalysts. Our goal is to extend this technology to the academic laboratory and introduce organic chemistry students to microwave-assisted reactions. Thus, we designed an inquiry-based laboratory experience based on the use of a microwave oven as a means for a comparative study of the effect of different catalysts in the synthesis of aspirin. The results, scope and limitations of this study are discussed in the article.