Nanophase materials by hydrothermal, microwave-hydrothermal and microwave-solvothermal methods

Hydrothermal, microwave-hydrothermal and microwave-solvothermal methods are truly low temperature methods for the prearation of nanophase materials of different sizes and shapes. These methods save energy and are environmentally benign because the reactions take place in closed system conditions. The nanophase materials can be produced in either a batch or continuous process using the above methods. Oxide materials such as zirconia, titania and various spinel ferrites and metals such as Pt, Pd, Ag, Au, etc. of different sizes and shapes were crystallized in our laboratory using the hydrothermal, microwave-hydrothermal and microwave-solvothermal methods. The key novelty of our work is the use of microwave-assisted reactions to dramatically enhance the kinetics of crystallization by one to two orders of magnitude.