Self assembled metal and metal oxide dioxide micro-wire spirals manufactured by microwave processing

The energy available within a domestic microwave oven can be harnessed in many ways to make inorganic and organic materials. In an initial experiment it has been discovered that ruthenium dioxide powders exposed to microwave energy in a conventional domestic oven can self assemble into a 3 dimensional micro-wire spiral structure. This project will focus on examining the nature of these spirals using a variety of microscopic techniques to determine whether this is a generic route to creating novel structures for other oxide materials with similar dielectric properties. Such structured materials will be likely to have applications in catalysis and in electrical components for novel power sources. It is also possible that the product of irradiation with microwaves is metallic in which case there is an option for winning rare metals from their ores in a unique manner.