Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 February 2011
Effective control of sol-gel glass processing requires a detailed understanding of the kinetic and mechanistic aspects of the process. We have investigated structural evolution at the molecular level in the tetramethoxysilane (TMOS) hydrolysis reaction by various spectroscopic techniques. Development of structure at the macromolecular level and evolution of particle/network dimensionality have been studied by small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) in both hydrogenated and fully deuterated reactions for silica macromolecular structural development.