Abstract
Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) measurements have been performed to investigate the nanoscale structure of materials of the systems xTiO 2 · (1 − x)SiO 2 and xZrO 2 · (1 − x)SiO 2 with x ⩽ 10 mol% at different processing stages. The materials were prepared by sol-gel processing using the alkoxides under strong acidic conditions. Samples were studied as xerogels heat treated at 120°C and 850°C and as wet gels at gel point and after ageing. All samples showed identical microstructure at the gel point of extended linear chains about 10 nm long. The aged gel has a mass fractal structure with fractal dimensions of 1.7–1.9. The 120°C heat-treated xerogels show homogeneous oxide regions with mass fractal structure. For the 850°C heat-treated xerogel the average size of the oxide regions is reduced and it has become more dense compared with the 120°C heat-treated sample.
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