lH Nmr Studies of the Sol-Gel Transition
ABSTRACTHigh resolution 1H NMR spectroscopy has been employed to study the dynamics of the sol-gel transition in simple silicates. High magnetic fields (360 MHz) were used to detect and identify the various chemical species present in the Si(OCH2CH3)4:C2H5OH:H2O sol-gel system. Using these techniques, the time evolution of the reactant and product species were monitored. The results of these studies have shown that acid and base catalyzed systems react along very different chemical pathways and that the elementary hydrolysis and condensation reactions occur on widely different time scales.