Solid-state chemistry in a microwave oven: Preparation of Pd/Co alloy from cyanogel coordination polymers

The possibility of carrying out the solid-state transformation of cyanogels to metal alloys was explored with the aid of microwave radiation. A solid-state transformation of Pd/Co cyanogel to Pd/Co alloy was achieved in a fraction of the time required by traditional thermal methods. Data suggested that the cyanogel directly absorbed microwave radiation, which led to a significant heating of the polymer network and caused the reduction of metal centers in a similar way but faster than furnace heating. It was also observed that with the Pd/Fe system suggested that the technique could be extended to other cryogels.