Preparation and Performance of Sol-Gel Materials Based on Precursor Tetramethoxy-Silicane
Qian Junmin¹,Li Xuxiang²
(1.School of Material Science and Engineering,Xi'an Jiaotong University,Xi'an 710049,China;2.School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering,Xi'an Jiaotong Unviersity)

Abstract: The sol-gel materials are prepared through the hydrolysis and polycondensation of tetramethoxyª²silicane (TMOS). The influences of hydrolysis and polycondensation conditions such as pH, reaction temperature, and mole ratio of water to TMOS on the gelation time are investigated in detail. The formation process, heat performance, and optical property of the material are studied by means of Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, differential scanning calorimetry, and UV-vis spectrophotometry, respectively. The microscopical structure of gel materials is also described and analyzed with scanning electron microscopy. The results show that the heat stability and optical transmittance of the materials are excellent, and that pH has a greater effect on the microscopical structure of the materials than other factors.
Keywords: tetramethoxy-silicane;hydrolysis and polycondensation reaction; sol-gel materials