Synthesis, characterization, and dissolution of biomorphic ceramics:: Determination of metal ions

Converting biological structures into ceramic materials has recently received increasing interest. In the current paper, wood templates (oak and beech) with a unidirectional pore structure have been used as the carbon source. We have synthesized two new biomorphic ceramic materials from oak and beech woods and Si infiltration. After the material characterization, we have optimized the sample dissolution by acid attack in an oven under microwave irradiation. Experimental designs were used as a multivariate strategy for the evaluation of effects of varying several variables. The optimization was performed in two steps using factorial design for preliminary evaluation and a Draper-Lin design for determination of the critical experimental conditions. Five variables (time, power, volume of HNO3, volume of H2SO4, and volume of HF) were considered as factors, and response was considered as the concentration of different metal ions in the optimization process.