Prof. György Keglevich was born in Budapest (Hungary) in 1957and graduated from the Technical University of Budapest in 1981 as a chemicalengineer. He completed his PhD in 1984 and his "Doctor of Chemical Science"degree in 1994, both in the subject of organophosphorus chemistry. He receivedhis "Dr. Habil." degree in 1995 and his DSc in 1994. He served as a ResearchAssociate at Duke University (Durham, North Carolina) for more than a year withProfessor Louis D. Quin. On two occasions, he was also a Visiting AssociateProfessor at the University of Massachusetts.

Affiliations:

Prof. Keglevich has worked at the Department of Organic ChemicalTechnology since 1981, first as a research employee of the ChinoinPharmaceutical and Chemical Works Ltd and from 1982 as a member of the teachingstaff as an Assistant Professor. In 1993, he was appointed Associate Professor.Since 1996, he has been a Full Professor at the Department of Organic ChemicalTechnology. He has headed said department (renamed the Department of OrganicChemistry and Technology in 2007) since 1999.

Fields of expertise:

Prof. Keglevich has pursued P-heterocyclic research on thesubject of ring enlargement of five-membered P-heterocycles and on theutilization of the products so obtained. He has also elaborated the synthesisof a number of families of compounds. Bridged P-heterocycles, precursors oflow-coordinated fragments, were synthesized and utilized in phosphorylations.The study on the synthesis and reactivity of aromatic phospholes forms anotherrelevant part of his research. His additional research interests includeDiels-Alder reactions, low-coordinated P-fragments, phosphine-transition metalcomplexes, selective reductions, phosphine-boranes, azacrown ethers withphosphonoalkyl side chains and selective reductions. Recently, he has turned hisattention to environmentally friendly syntheses, and environmentally friendlychemistry (green chemistry) now informs his research, which encompasses MWchemistry, the synergism of MW and phase transfer catalysis, ionic liquids, andthe development of new catalysts and monitoring reactions using in situmethods.

The Spread of the Application of the Microwave Technique inOrganic Synthesis.- Microwave-Assisted Sytheses in Organic Chemistry.- The Useof MW in Organophosphorus Chemistry.- Interpretation of the Effects of Microwaves.

This book looks back on thirty-five years of microwave (MW)chemistry and explains how the application of the MW technique became anintegral part of R&D, eventually becoming recognized in industry. Further,it details how MW chemistry has undergone a dynamic development in the pastthree decades, one driven by the advent of increasingly sophisticatedprofessional MW reactors in place of the kitchen MW ovens used in earlieryears. A major part of the book shows how substitutions, esterifications,amidations, hydrolyses, alkylations, eliminations, dehydrations, condensations,cyclizations, C-C couplings and the modification of heterocycles can beperformed advantageously under MW irradiation, as the reaction times areshorter, while the selectivity and yields are higher; it also explains why inmost cases, the reactions can be performed under solvent-free conditions. MWirradiation within the sphere of organophosphorus chemistry is showcased andtypical reactions, such as the direct derivatization of phosphinic acids,alkylating esterifications, Diels-Alder reactions, the inverse Wittig-typereaction, fragmentations, the Arbuzov reaction, the synthesis of -hydroxyphosphonates and -aminophosphonates (the Kabachnik-Fieldscondensation), deoxygenations and P-C coupling reactions are described under MWconditions. In closing, the advantages of MW chemistry such as faster reactionsand the possibility of simplifying the catalytic systems are addressed.