Comparative Evaluation of Microwave Heating Performance across Structurally Diverse Tungsten Oxides

Microwave heating is an effective method for efficiently heating a target material, allowing the chemical reaction processes to proceed quickly. In catalytic reactions under microwave irradiation, it is essential to understand the relationship between the structure and physical properties of the material to be used as a catalyst and microwave heating. In this study, we focused on tungsten oxides, which absorb microwaves and convert them into heat, and we compared the microwave heating properties of tungsten oxides with different structures. The heating properties of tungsten oxides under microwave irradiation are highly dependent on their morphologies. WO3 nanoflakes with a monoclinic phase structure have a more rapidly heated surface than tungsten oxides with other morphologies. The heating characteristics of each tungsten oxide were consistent with the dielectric loss factor obtained by the perturbation method. Finite element analysis was used to gain a better understanding of the thermal distribution of materials during microwave irradiation.