A comprehensive analysis of the structural, textural, and nanomechanical properties of sol-gel synthesized TiO2, Al2O3, and SiO2 nanoparticles

This study focused on analyzing the impact of the sol-gel method on the final crystalline phase and mechanical behavior of TiO2, Al2O3, and SiO2 nanopowders. The results showed that the powders obtained through sol-gel exhibited the best values of Young's modulus. To explore the textural properties further, a surface analysis was conducted, which revealed that the TiO2, Al2O3, and SiO2 powders possessed smooth, dense, and round particles. The powders also exhibited higher low surface roughness and specific surface area. Specifically, the results presented in this study indicated Rq values of 0.823 nm, SBET values of 141 m2/g for TiO2, Rq values of 0.783 nm, SBET values of 520 m2/g for Al2O3, and Rq values of 0.720 nm, SBET values of 651 m2/g for SiO2. These findings suggest that the sol-gel process can effectively enhance the morphological, textural, and mechanical properties of resulting ceramic materials such as (Al2O3/SiO2/TiO2).