Preparation and Electrophoretic Deposition of an Yttrium Silicate Precursor Sol

Abstract

. In the present work we used the sol-gel process to prepare Y2SiO5 precursor sols suitable for electrophoretic deposition (EPD). The sol synthesis was performed through the controlled hydrolysis of alkoxide solutions of tetraethoxysilane and yttriumoxoisopropoxide. During sol development emphasis was put on characterization of particles size and zeta potential of the formed aggregates. We succeeded in synthesizing a clear sol containing polymeric aggregates with acceptable particle charge. The electrophoretic deposition on glassy carbon or C/C-SiC slabs led to homogenous layers. At low sol concentrations micro cracks in the deposited layers were observed whereas higher concentrations led to thin and dense layers. During constant current EPD a constant voltage was recorded indicating that the deposited layer does not lead to an increase in resistivity in this kind of EPD system.