Microwave-Induced Self-Organization of Liophilic Colloids During Enhanced Hydrolytic Polymerization

This paper considers a multifactor process of self-organization of soft matter dissipative membraneous structures from the inorganic colloidal precursor under microwave irradiation. The above structures are formed due to dehydration accompanied by hydrolytic polymerization under the microwave field, leading to the formation of polymeric Fe(III) oxyhydroxides / oxides. The resulting structure morphology, as well as their chemical composition and degree of crystallinity depend on the irradiation time, microwave field power and concentration of the initial precursor. The structure formation in this case is a typical reaction-diffusion process with the emergent properties.