ISSN:
1573-4846
Keywords:
sol-gel
;
gelation modelling
;
TiO2 gels
;
simulation
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Chemistry and Pharmacology
Notes:
Abstract We present here an experimental and numerical study of the chemical and aggregative mechanisms for titanium alkoxide in a reverse micellar medium. NMR experiments were done to study the first step of the sol-gel process: hydrolysis of titanium isopropoxide. Light and X-ray scattering experiments were then conducted to characterize the clustering of aggregates and aggregation kinetics. Fractal dimension, measured by U.S.A.X.S., varies with the hydrolysis ratio and the hydration of the surfactant. This evolution was explained by polydispersity of the hydrolysis which depends on the surfactant concentration. This hypothesis was tested through a numerical simulation of irreversible aggregation using a chemically limited aggregation model. The hydrolyzed sites are distributed among the monomers by a random procedure governed by a polydispersity parameterp, varying from 0 to 1. The total number of hydrolyzed sites is governed by a parameterq belonging to the interval [0, 1]. Thep-q evolution of the fractal dimension coincides rather well with the experimental data in all the region of the two dimensional phase space.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02436822
