Sol-Gel Chemistry for Optical Materials

Abstract

Sol-gel chemistry is based on the hydrolysis and condensation of metal alkoxides. However the sol-gel synthesis of optical materials requires special properties such as transparency, hydrophilicity or controlled porosity. The chemical modification of metal alkoxides by nucleophilic species provides a chemical control over the polymerization process. Moreover, hybrid organic-inorganic materials can be obtained when non hydrolyzable organic ligands are bonded to the metal precursor. Such hybrids, known as ORMOCERs, are now currently used as non porous transparent matrices for sol-gel optics.