Microwave-responsive nanomaterials for catalysis

Microwave heating is a powerful and non-conventional energy source for heterogeneous catalytic reactions, which has attracted considerable attention during the past decades. With the presence of microwave-responsive catalysts, microwave can selectively heat the designed catalyst surface, and expedite the reaction rate at catalyst/solvent interface. This chapter strives to extensively review the recent work on microwave-responsive catalysts and their roles in heterogeneous catalytic reactions. The fundamental mechanism of microwave heating is illustrated to explain its functions in the catalytic reactions. The working principle of microwave-responsive catalyst and related evaluation methods are discussed in this chapter. Additionally, the advantages of microwave-responsive catalysts for specific reactions have been categorized and reviewed. At last, a few different strategies to enhance microwave thermal effects have been summarized. It is concluded that developing microwave-responsive catalysts is a practical method to expedite reaction rate, enhance energy-efficiency, and improve product quality. Therefore, designing microwave-responsive catalysts could be an effective strategy for highly efficient reactions and future industrial-scale applications.