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Microemulsions are useful as reaction media to overcome the reagent incompatibility that one frequently encounters in organic synthesis. In this respect microemulsions can be regarded as an alternative to two-phase systems with added phase transfer agent (phase transfer catalysis). Recent work has shown that the two approaches, i.e. use of microemulsions and addition of a phase transfer agent, can be combined, leading to very high reactivity. It has also been demonstrated that an extra acceleration of a reaction may be obtained by proper choice of surfactant in the formulation. Only a small amount of a surfactant with a charge opposite the charge of one reactant may lead to a rate enhancement due to an increased local concentration of that reactant in the interfacial zone, where the reaction takes place (microemulsion catalysis). The oil–water interface of a microemulsion can also be used as a template to …