Nanomaterials cooked up in microwave

US chemists have developed a method that uses a commercial microwave oven to control the dimensions and properties of nanoscale rods and wires during synthesis.

The researchers from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) used a method known as microwave irradiation (MWI). MWI is considered a fast and easy way to create highly versatile, tailored nanorods and nanowires because microwave heating can provide significant enhancement in reaction rates. The materials made can be used in medical applications, drug delivery, sensors, communications and optical devices

M. Samy El-Shall, professor of chemistry and affiliate professor of chemical engineering at VCU, said, “MWI is unique in providing scaled-up processes thus leading to a potentially important industrial advancement in the large-scale synthesis of nanomaterials.”

Most methods currently used to synthesise nanomaterials are complicated, require specific equipment and produce small amounts of nanomaterials. Although the MWI process involves the use of a conventional microwave, it requires a defined recipe of chemicals and solvents to create the nanomaterials in the laboratory setting.