The Sol-Gel Method: Pathway to Ultrapure and Homogeneous Mixed Metal Oxide Nanoparticles

摘要

This article includes an overview of current research on metal oxides and mixed (heterobi-) metal oxides prepared by sol-gel method using variety of precursors which created interest among scientists and technologists due to their structure, reactivity as well as application in almost every field of science. Sol-gel method is a soft-chemistry method requires mild reaction conditions, less equipments as well as produces materials with ultra purity and therefore, widely used as compared to other methods. Authors have explained hydrolytic sol-gel method with examples in the first section and compared the method with conventional solid state method. This section is further divided into subsections explaining the process using metal salts such as chlorides, nitrates, etc. and metal-organic compounds as precursor with chelating ligands, polyols, etc. The importance of using heterometallic alkoxides as precursor rather than using two different metal precursors is also explained and finally the new advancement in sol-gel method.