The proposal consists of two parts. Firstly, we will undertake an ambient temperature ex-situ PND study of some new ternary transition metal carbide phases that have been synthesised using MWs in the laboratory, making use of the POLARIS sample changer. This part of the experiment aims to establish definitive structures and carbon stoichiometry, in order to correlate these with the properties of the materials (particularly superconductivity and catalytic activity).Secondly, we will perform an in-situ PND study of the synthesis of these ternary carbides using a bespoke MW reactor developed for POLARIS. This will allow us to understand the process of carbide formation, and is part of a wider research programme which aims to use in-situ PND to improve our understanding of the MW synthesis of a wide range of materials.