Glycol modified titanosiloxane as molecular precursor for homogenous titania–silica material: synthesis and characterization

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Ti(OPri)4 reacts with HOSi(OtBu)3 in anhydrous benzene in 1:1 and 1:2 molar ratios to afford alkoxy titanosiloxane precursors, [Ti(OPri)3{OSi(OtBu)3}] (A) and [Ti(OPri)2{OSi(OtBu)3}2] (B), respectively. Further reactions of (A) or (B) with glycols in 1:1 molar ratio afforded six complexes of the types [Ti(OPri)(O–G–O){OSi(OtBu)3}] (1A–3A) and [Ti(O–G–O){OSi(OtBu)3}2] (1B–3B), respectively [where G = (CH2)2 (1A, 1B); (CH2)3 (2A, 2B) and {CH2CH2CH(CH3)} (3A, 3B)]. Both (A) and (B) are liquids while all the other products are viscous liquids which get solidified on ageing. Cryoscopic molecular weight measurements of the fresh products indicate their monomeric nature. FAB mass studies of (A) and (B) also indicate monomeric nature. However, FAB mass spectra of the two representative solids (1A) and (2B) suggest dimeric behavior of the glycolato derivatives. (A) distills at 85 °C/5 mm while other products get decomposed even under reduced pressure. TG analyses of (A), (B), (1A), and (1B) suggest formation of titania–silica materials at 200 °C for (A) and (B) and 350 °C for (1A) and (1B). The products have been characterized by elemental analyses, FTIR and 1H, 13C & 29Si-NMR techniques. All these products are soluble in common organic solvents indicating a homogenous distribution of the components on the molecular scale. The Si/Ti ratio of the oxide may be controlled easily by the composition of the starting precursors. Hydrolysis of the glycol modified derivative, (1A) by the Sol–Gel technique affords the desired homogenous titania–silica material, TiO2·SiO2 in nano-size while, the precursor (A) yields a non-stiochiometric silica doped titania material. However, pyrolysis of (A) yields nano-sized crystallites of TiO2·SiO2. All these materials were characterized by FTIR, powder XRD patterns, SEM images, and EDX analyses.