Defense Date
2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science
Department
Chemical and Life Science Engineering
First Advisor
Mo Jiang
Abstract
A low-cost and fully controllable microwave reactor was developed using accessible and commercially available equipment for use in laboratory scale solid state chemistry. The design used a magnetron as the source of electromagnetic radiation to heat the sample. A domestic microwave cavity was repurposed as the resonance chamber to ensure safe confinement of electromagnetic radiation while providing a sufficiently large volume for solid samples and reaction vessels. The power delivery to the magnetron was modulated by an inverter circuit with sufficiently high response time to be controlled with a PWM signal from a microcontroller. An IR sensor was implemented to both monitor and provide a signal for a feedback control loop. Paired with the rapid power modulation of the inverter circuit, heating rate and temperature can be controlled allowing for reliable chemical processing in a wide range of temperatures. To allow for facile control and monitoring of chemical processes in real time, a user interface was implemented to change important process parameters, monitor temperature and power use, and store data from runs for further analysis. To ensure longevity of the reactor, a cooling loop was implemented to cool the magnetron from overheating. The performance was demonstrated using a dehydration reaction of nickel oxalate dihydrate in anhydrous nickel oxalate. Results demonstrate reliable heating of samples for kinetic analysis. Overall, this work provides an accessible and modular platform of a microwave reactor that has applications in kinetic reaction analysis and intensification of solid-state chemical processing.
Rights
© Carter Miller
Is Part Of
VCU University Archives
Is Part Of
VCU Theses and Dissertations
Date of Submission
12-12-2025