Organic-inorganic solids by sol-gel processing: optical applications
01 Mar 1998-Pure and Applied Optics: Journal of The European Optical Society Part A (IOP Publishing)-Vol. 7, Iss: 2, pp 169-177
TL;DR: In this article, the authors developed pure inorganic and hybrid organic-inorganic solids by sol-gel processing of silicon alkoxides, which can be obtained at room temperature, in any desired shape, including thin films, and are able to trap organic molecules or clusters.
Abstract: We have developed pure inorganic and hybrid organic-inorganic solids by sol-gel processing of silicon alkoxides. `Dense' gels are obtained at room temperature, in any desired shape, including thin films, and we are able to trap organic molecules or clusters. Gels can be polished and exhibit optical transmission in the visible range similar to that of high-temperature silica glasses. Concerning `gel-molecule' and `gel-nanocrystal' composites, the diversity of the organofunctional alkoxide precursors allows us to modify the optical properties by changing the nature and the strength of chemical and electronic interactions between the optically active guest system and the solid host matrix.
Citations
More filters
1,084 citations
TL;DR: In this article, various synthesis strategies for the preparation of chromophores in porous silicas and minerals like zeolites, zeolite analogues and clays are described focusing on soft procedures like the sol-gel technique, microwave-assisted crystallization inclusion, and deposition in solution in combination with the Langmuir-Blodgett technique.
361 citations
01 Jan 2004
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a survey of the state-of-the-art in Sol-Gel science and technology, focusing on the following: 1. Wet Chemical Technology 2: Wet Chemical coating Technologies 2.1 Glass Substrates 2.2 Coating Techniques 2.3 Post-Coating Treatment Techniques 3: Bulk Glass Technologies 4: Coating and Material Properties 4.1 Passive Coatings 4.2 Active Coatings4.3 Gels, Bulk Materials, Fibers and Powders 4.4 Characterization 5: Subject Index 6:
Abstract: Editor's Preface List of Contributors 1: Wet Chemical Technology 2: Wet Chemical coating Technologies 2.1 Glass Substrates 2.2 Coating Techniques 2.3 Post-Coating Treatment Techniques 2.4 Patterning Techniques 3: Bulk Glass Technologies 4: Coating and Material Properties 4.1 Passive Coatings 4.2 Active Coatings 4.3 Gels, Bulk Materials, Fibers and Powders 4.4 Characterization 5: Subject Index 6: Annex 1. Important Internet Sites 2. Regular Conferences Hosting Sol-Gel Communications 3. Proceedings of Most Important Conferences and Books 4. Where to Find Publications and Reports 5. Market Studies 6. Research Groups and Who's Who in Sol-Gel Science and Technology 7. Companies Commercializing Sol-Gel Related Glass Products and Sol-Gel Products Useful for Glass Production and Organizations which Offer Developments in Sol-Gel Technology 8. Distributors/Manufacturers of Sol-Gel Related Chemical Precursors
242 citations
TL;DR: The field of hybrid inorganic-organic materials has experienced an explosive growth since the 1980s, with the expansion of soft inorganic chemistry based processes as discussed by the authors, and a high degree of control over both composition and nanostructure of these hybrids can be achieved allowing tunable structure-property relationships.
Abstract: Research on hybrid inorganic-organic materials has experienced an explosive growth since the 1980s, with the expansion of soft inorganic chemistry based processes. Indeed, mild synthetic conditions, low processing temperatures provided by “chimie douce” and the versatility of the colloidal state allow for the mixing of the organic and inorganic components at the nanometer scale in virtually any ratio to produce the so called hybrid materials. Today a high degree of control over both composition and nanostructure of these hybrids can be achieved allowing tunable structure-property relationships. This, in turn, makes it possible to tailor and fine-tune many properties (mechanical, optical, electronic, thermal, chemical…) in very broad ranges, and to design specific multifunctional systems for applications. In particular, the field of “Hybrid-Optics” has been very productive not only scientifically but also in terms of applications. Indeed, numerous optical devices based on hybrids are already in, or very close, to the market. This review describes most of the recent advances performed in this field. Emphasis will be given to luminescent, photochromic, NLO and plasmonic properties. As an outlook we show that the controlled coupling between plasmonics and luminescence is opening a land of opportunities in the field of “Hybrid-Optics”.
188 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors outline some of the sophisticated products and devices obtained by the sol-gel method for producing glasses or glass films at relatively low temperature allowing incorporation of a large number of inorganic and organic additives during the process of glass formation.
182 citations
References
More filters
Journal Article•
TL;DR: This is the first volume of a set of three within the Springer Series in Optical Sciences, and is devoted to photorefractive effects, photoreFractive materials, and their applications.
Abstract: This is the first volume of a set of three within the Springer Series in Optical Sciences, and is devoted to photorefractive effects, photorefractive materials, and their applications. Since the publication of our first two Springer books on Photorefractive Materials and Their Applications (Topics in Applied Physics, Vols. 61 and 62) almost 20 years ago, a lot of research has been done in this area. New and often expected effects have been discovered, theoretical models developed, known effects finally explained, and novel applications proposed. We believe that the field has now reached a high level of maturity, even if research continues in all areas mentioned above and with new discoveries arriving quite regularly. We therefore have decided to invite some of the top experts in the field to put together the state of the art in their respective fields. This after we had been encouraged to do so for more than ten years by the publisher, due to the fact that the former volumes were long out of print.
1,154 citations
665 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors describe a polymer composite with excellent photorefractive properties, achieving a diffraction efficiency approaching 100% and a net two-beam coupling gain of more than 200 cm-1.
Abstract: PHOTOREFRACTIVE materials are of considerable interest for the development of all-optical devices1. The photoref ractive effect appears in materials that exhibit an electric-field-dependent refractive index and that are photosensitive, such that the spatial distribution of photogenerated charge carriers is modified on irradiation with light. The diffraction pattern formed by the interference of two coherent light beams within such a material generates a non-uniform internal electric field that in turn modulates the refractive index. The resulting refractive-index pattern forms a grating that can diffract light and thereby give rise to two-beam coupling, whereby one of the writing beams gains energy at the expense of the other—a property that can be exploited in photonic devices. Although the best photorefractive materials currently available are inorganic crystals such as LiNbO3, there is considerable interest in the development of photorefractive polymers2–8, owing to their structural flexibility, ease of processing and lower cost. We describe here a polymer composite with excellent photorefractive properties. We have achieved a diffraction efficiency approaching 100% and a net two-beam coupling gain of more than 200 cm–1, making these polymeric materials suitable for immediate application in areas such as dynamic holographic storage and optical information processing1.
648 citations
TL;DR: The complete condensation kinetics in the conditions of rapid hydrolysis of three silicon alkoxides are studied by NMR to deduce that the first steps of the condensation proceed by progressive assembling of small organized units.
Abstract: We have studied by $^{29}\mathrm{Si}$ NMR the complete condensation kinetics in the conditions of rapid hydrolysis (acidic medium, water in excess) of three silicon alkoxides. The gelation of the tetravalent tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) takes several weeks, whereas the trivalent methyltriethoxysilane (MTEOS) and vinyltriethoxysilane (VTEOS) do not form gels. From a quantitative analysis of the data, we deduce that the first steps of the condensation proceed by progressive assembling of small organized units. This accounts for the very slow kinetics (logarithmic function of time), the occurrence of highly condensed agglomerates, and the absence of gelation in trivalent systems. For the tetravalent TEOS, this is followed by an aggregation phase, which has been studied both by NMR and small-angle x-ray scattering. The fractal dimension D=1.9 and the growing kinetics (cluster size increasing as a linear function of time) are consistent with reaction-limited cluster-cluster aggregation with preferential reactivity at the external cluster sites. Finally, we suggest that the progressive transformation of the sol phase into the gel phase after the gel time can be observed by comparing static and magic-angle-spinning NMR spectra.
187 citations