Effects of anomalous permittivity on the microwave heating of zinc oxide

Highly nonuniform heating has been observed in zinc oxide (ZnO) powder compacts exposed to 2.45 GHz microwaves in oxygen deficient atmospheres such as pure nitrogen or argon. This phenomenon manifests as a localized zone of rapid heating which propagates outward from the sample core, and is documented by real-time surface and core temperature measurements performed during the microwave exposure. Measurements of the complex permittivity, ε″, during heating of identical ZnO samples in a conventional furnace and in a nitrogen atmosphere, demonstrated that ε″ experiences at least one significant maximum between 200 and 500 °C. Mass spectrometry results indicate that the peaks in ε″ correlate well with the rate of desorption of chemisorbed water from the surface of the ZnO powder. It was also noted that the nonuniform heating does not manifest when the microwave exposure is performed in air. Similarly, the anomalous peaks in ε″ are almost completely suppressed during heating in air. It is well known that oxygen adsorbs strongly to the surface of ZnO in the temperature range from room temperature to 300 °C, and that this adsorption results in a drastic decrease in the electrical conductivity and, thus, in ε″. It is proposed, therefore, that the effect of water desorption upon the complex permittivity may be, in effect, counterbalanced by the adsorption oxygen from the atmosphere. The effect of this behavior may be significant during microwave processing, where nonuniform power absorption can result in extremely localized heating.