Sol-Gel Transition and Structural Evolution on Multicomponent Gels Derived from the Alumina-Silica System

The capacity of the sol-gel process of producing highly pure, homogeneous alumina-silica based materials had been demonstrated in the last few years. However, a full understanding on the mechanisms associated to sol formation and sol to gel transition has not yet been achieved and is required for the development of a new generation of nano-structurally tailored materials that will significantly enhance the technological importance of the sol-gel process. In this work, tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) and aluminum isopropoxide were used to prepare materials within the entire silica-alumina system. Process parameters, such as gelation time, were correlated to variables of the initial stage of the process, such as pH, temperature of hydrolysis and water/alkoxide ratio. The obtained gels were dried at 105°C and subsequently heat treated at 500 and 1100°C for 3 hours. X-ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopy were used to characterize the materials and phase transformations. Structural information obtained from phase characterization and phase transformations was correlated to the effects of the process variables on sol formation and gelation, providing insights related to the mechanisms involved. The influence of temperature of aluminum isopropoxide hydrolysis on peptization and gelation of the mixtures was noted. The different behavior of mixtures hydrolyzed at low and high temperatures was suggested to be caused by different mechanisms of surface charge formation on the structurally different aluminum hydroxides. Monophasic and diphasic mullite xerogels were produced by changing temperature of aluminum isopropoxide hydrolysis, and led to formation of mullite and Al-Si spinel phases respectively, when treated at 1100°C.