Precipitation Behavior in Liesegang Systems under Microwave Irradiation

We studied precipitation patterns in a Liesegang system under microwave irradiation in order to investigate metal salt diffusion in an electrolyte gel. The salt species and microwave irradiation power were varied. Microwave irradiation induced periodic patterns of precipitation because polar molecules vibrate and rotate in an electromagnetic field. For example, the number of patterns increased with the irradiation power. Accordingly, microwave irradiation nonlinearly accelerated the diffusion of ionic molecules.