Required Properties of Electrode Materials

Gc/s) offers the advantage that permanent dipoles will less easily follow the electrical field of the microwaves. 

Before constructing an electrode for microwave electrochemical studies, the question of microwave penetration in relation to the geometry of the sample has to be evaluated carefully. Typically only moderately doped semiconductors can be well investigated by microwave electrochemical techniques. On the other hand, if the microwaves are interacting with thin layers of materials or liquids also highly doped or even metallic films can be used, provided an appropriate geometry is selected to allow interaction of the microwaves with a thin oxide-, Helmholtz-, or space-charge layer of the materials. 

The materials to be investigated have to be incorporated into electrochemical cells in such a way as to permit the influx and the reflection of microwaves. The electrodes have to be adjusted to the microwave techniques that will be used for the investigation. Basically three different measurement approaches can be distinguished (Fig. 3). The simplest technique for microwave conductivity studies [Fig. 3(a)] is to place the sample directly at the exit of an ordinary waveguide. This setup has the advantage of being very simple and relatively transparent with respect to the phenomena occurring. Microwave power is reflected from the sample 

Entirely different factors have to be considered when the electrochemical cell is placed in a microwave cavity [Fig. 4(b)]. Only a very small volume of water can be introduced into the cavity without drastically 

---