In this work, zinc ferrite nanoparticles were prepared by a one-pot microwave assisted combustion in the solid state with a controllable power up to 900 W and a tunable time of up to 20 min. Then, the ZnFe₂O₄ nanoparticles were encapsulated in an organoclay using ultrasound assisted impregnation to obtain a zinc ferrite/organoclay nanocomposite as a magnetic heterostructured adsorbent. The combustion reactions were performed in a reaction set-up manufactured from an alumina crucible encircled by a jacket of CuO as a microwave absorbing layer. This workpiece absorbs the distributed microwaves and supplies calcination conditions without any external heat source to prepare a pure phase of zinc ferrite. The effects of the microwave power and the time parameters on the structural and morphological features of the samples are discussed in detail. The adsorption performance of the products for water purification of some dye pollutants was also studied. The UV-Vis results showed that the addition of the as-prepared magnetic nanoparticles to the exfoliated organoclay considerably increased the adsorption of organic dye pollutants from an aqueous solution. Magnetic hysteresis measurements were performed on a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) showing the soft paramagnetic properties of the resulting products at room temperature. The structural and morphological analyses were also investigated in detail.

Organic reagents can be used as a driving agent to synthesize a wide spectrum of nanomaterials. In this work, nickel molybdate (NiMoO4) nanoparticles with a pure monoclinic crystalline phase were synthesized by using a facile one step microwave heating technique in solid state within a few minutes. Ammonium hepta molybdate tetrahydrate and nickel nitrate hexahydrate as initial materials were mixed to each other without any solvent and put into a domestic microwave oven with one step scheduled run. We introduced an alternative route of power input into chemical reactions in solid state by using microwave radiation. In fact, the obtained results can draw an outlook of the effectiveness and feasibility of this technique for the synthesis of various nanoparticles. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersion of x-ray spectrometry (EDX) were used to characterize the prepared product. The study of photocatalytic behaviour of the resulting product indicated a high capability on the removal of Methylene Blue (MB) from aqueous solution.

We synthesized magnetic ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles via one pot solvent free microwave assisted technique. Iron (III) nitrate nonahydrate and zinc nitrate hexahydrate as reactants were crushed in the presence of reactive reagents. Then, the prepared mixture was transferred into a domestic microwave oven with the power of 900 W for 20 minutes. Finally, the resulting compound was collected, washed several times with ethanol, dried at 80 °C for 24 h and analyzed. The constructed nano-sized zinc ferrite was characterized using powder x-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersion of x-ray spectrometry (EDX). This technique is a simple, fast, environmental friendly and can draw a usable viewpoint for the synthesis of nanomaterials. The ability of the prepared product was studied on the removal of organic pollutant (Congo Red) from aqueous solution through adsorption mechanism.

Organoclay is an organic-inorganic composite that is consists of layers of two tetrahedral silica sheets and one octahedral alumina sheet pillared by organic reagents to improve the physical and chemical properties. We report the synthesis of CeO2/organo-clay nanocomposite with a uniform distribution of particles in morphology by a programmed method of microwave heating reaction. Cerium nitrate hexahydrate as an initial metal source was added to the dispersed organoclay in aqueous solution and then transferred into a domestic microwave oven with a power of 900 W for 20 min. the synthesized nanocomposite was characterized by using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersion of x-ray spectrometry (EDX) techniques. XRD pattern clearly revealed the formation of the CeO2/ organoclay nanocomposite having pillared planes. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of the resulting product indicated a uniform morphology of nano-sized particles with an average size of 33 nm. The composition of the resulting product into a matrix of resin epoxy in different weight ratios was studied.