Is there any metal oxide (like aluminum oxide, titanium dioxide etc.), that can be put into a vacuum and hit with a heat source, like a laser and be converted into pure metal with a slightly weaker vacuum having oxygen in it?
From my understanding pure metals tend to oxidize at higher temperatures, however, since "nature hates a vacuum", is it possible to use heat to do the opposite process by providing enough energy to break it's chemical bonds and then the oxygen joins the vacuum leaving the metal behind?
If this is impossible. Is there another way to use a laser to purify metals? If heat doesn't do the trick even in a unique environment, perhaps is it possible to focus ionizing radiation to essentially perform electrolysis on it?
Again, this might not work. So one last idea. For example, aluminum oxide and titanium dioxide are dielectrics. If you were to hit one side with an electron beam from a cathode ray tube to negatively charge one surface and use ionizing radiation on the other side could you then create a chemical reaction to purify the metal?