Science and Education Publishing World Journal of Chemical Education 2375-1657 3 5 2015 09 09 Microwave-Assisted Esterifications: An Unknowns Experiment Designed for an Undergraduate Organic Chemistry Laboratory 111 114 EN Jessica S. Lampkowski William Bass Zachary Nimmo Douglas D. Young Department of Chemistry, College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA, USA WJCE2015351 10.12691/wjce-3-5-1 2015 07 21 2015 08 20 2015 09 09 The utilization of microwaves in synthetic chemistry provides a mechanism for the efficient heating of reactions, offering benefits such as rapid reaction rates and increased yields. Here, we present an undergraduate organic chemistry lab that utilizes microwave technology to perform esterification with alcohol unknowns. This experiment would normally require over an hour for reflux and apparatus assembly; however, with microwave technology we are able to develop a generic methodology to accomplish the esterification reaction in five minutes, demonstrating the efficiency of the microwave and allowing more time for product analysis and characterization. Moreover, the integration of an unknowns aspect to the laboratory implements the problem-solving laboratory approach and confers the ability to solidify principles of NMR spectroscopy as well as product purification techniques.