Oriented External Electric Fields (OEEFs)- Universal Catalysts

This talk outlines my outlook on the development of electric-field (EF)-mediated-chemistry, and a vision of its future. I discuss applications of oriented-external electric-fields (OEEFs) on chemical reactivity, and proceed with relevant experimental verifications. Subsequently, the talk outlines other ways of generating EFs, e.g. by use of pH-switchable charges, ionic additives, water droplets, and so on. This is followed by a summary of the conceptual principles for understanding and predicting OEEF Effects, e.g., the reaction-axis rule, the capability of OEEFs to act as tweezers that orient reactants and accelerate their reactions, etc. Finally, I plan to discuss applications of OEEFs in continuous-flow setups, which may in principle scale-up to molar concentrations. The talk ends with a future vision: as the OEEF is a universal catalyst, its usage will change chemical education, if not also the art of making new molecules.