No abstract

The heating characteristics of aqueous electrolyte solutions (NaCl, KCl, CaCl2, NaBF4, and NaBr) of varying concentrations in ultrapure water by 2.45 GHz microwave radiation from a single-mode resonance microwave device and a semiconductor microwave generator were examined under conditions where the electric field (E-field) was dominant and where the magnetic field (H-field) dominated. Although magnetic field heating is not generally used in microwave chemistry, the electrolyte solutions were heated almost entirely by the microwaves' H-field. The heating rates under H-field irradiation at the higher concentrations of electrolytes (0.125 M to 0.50 M) exceeded the rates under E-field irradiation. This inversion phenomenon in heating is described in terms of the penetration depth of the microwaves. On the other hand, the action of the microwave radiation on ethylene glycol containing an electrolyte differed from that observed for water under E-field and H-field conditions.

No abstract

Given earlier observations that microwave frequencies can have a substantial effect on the photoactivity of a well-known photocatalyst (TiO(2)), in the synthesis of 3,6-diphenyl-4-n-butylpyridazine through a Diels-Alder process, and in the one-pot solvent-free synthesis of a room-temperature ionic liquid, we proceeded to examine the frequency effects of the 5.8 and 2.45 GHz microwave (MW) radiation in the synthesis of gold nanoparticles in non-polar media, such as oleylamine, which have a low dielectric constant (ε'), and we further examine differences in shape and size under otherwise identical temperature conditions when the synthesis of the gold nanoparticles was carried out in an ethylene glycol polar medium in the presence of polyvinylpyrrolidone. Whereas a change in microwave frequency from 2.45 to 5.8 GHz at equal microwave power levels led to the synthesis of gold nanoparticles in the non-polar media, a change in the microwave frequency had no effect on the size and shape of the gold nanoparticles synthesized in polar media for identical microwave power levels.

A solution containing ethanol as polar material and either benzene or n-dodecane as nonpolar solvent was heated by microwave irradiation employing a single-mode resonance microwave device. Although the microwave heating efficiency was expected from the just value of the relative dielectric constant (εr') or relative dielectric loss (εr″) for liquid system, it was revealed that the clustering structure of alcohol molecules expected from the excess parameter such as the excess relative dielectric loss is the important factor in the decision for efficiency of the microwave heating for the solution. This assumption and novel theory were strongly supported from the thermodynamic data such as vapor pressure and the partial enthalpy.

Asbestos-containing debris generated by the tsunami after the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011, was processed by microwave heating. The analysis of the treated samples employing thermo gravimetry, differential thermal analysis, X-ray diffractometry, scanning electron microscopy, and phase-contrast microscopy revealed the rapid detoxification of the waste by conversion of the asbestos fibers to a nonfibrous glassy material. The detoxification by the microwave method occurred at a significantly lower processing temperature than the thermal methods actually established for the treatment of asbestos-containing waste. The lower treatment temperature is considered to be a consequence of the microwave penetration depth into the waste material and the increased intensity of the microwave electric field in the gaps between the asbestos fibers resulting in a rapid heating of the fibers inside the debris. A continuous treatment plant having a capacity of 2000 kg day −1 of asbestos-containing waste was built in the area affected by the earthquake disaster. This treatment plant consists of a rotary kiln to burn the combustible waste (wood) and a microwave rotary kiln to treat asbestos-containing inorganic materials. The hot flue gas produced by the combustion of wood is introduced into the connected microwave rotary kiln to increase the energy efficiency of the combined process. Successful operation of this combined device with regard to asbestos decomposition is demonstrated.

No abstract

Rapid formation of hydroxyapatite [Ca 10 (PO 4 ) 6 (OH) 2 ; HAp] layer on the polyetheretherketone (PEEK) substrate was examined by the combined techniques of vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) irradiation and microwave heating. The surface properties of PEEK substrate were modified by the formation of carboxyl group due to the VUV irradiation at room temperature in air, whereas the formation of HAp layer was encouraged by the microwave heating of surface-modified PEEK substrate in the HAp-dissolved solution. The optimization of the fabrication conditions was conducted by checking (i) the distance of VUV lamp to PEEK substrate (112 mm) and VUV irradiation time (0120 min) for the surface modification of PEEK substrate, and (ii) the microwave heating temperatures (100 and 140°C) for the rapid formation of HAp layer on the PEEK substrate. When the PEEK substrate was surface-modified by the VUV irradiation for 120 min with the distance of VUV lamp to PEEK substrate kept being 1 mm, and then was microwave-heated in the HAp-dissolved solution at 140°C for 10 min, the thickness of the HAp layer on the PEEK substrate attained approximately 10¯m.