A General Nonhydrolytic Sol‐Gel Route to Oxides
ABSTRACTA nonhydrolytic sol‐gel route based on the condensation between chlorides and oxygen donors such as ethers and alkoxides is presented. Four examples, silica, alumina, titania and binary oxides in the Al/Si system show that this is a general route. The mechanism of this condensation is completely different from the one of classical sol‐gel process, since it implies nucleophilic substitution at the carbon center instead of the metal center. As a consequence, the differences in reactivity between different metals are reduced. In addition, the structure of the precursors may be retained in the gel. Thus, the nonhydrolytic sol‐gel process is very efficient for the preparation of homogeneous bicomponent oxides. Futhermore, nonhydrated gels are formed, which allowed us to prepare amorphous aluminas with high surface areas.