Preparation and characterization of hybrid silica-poly(ethylene glycol) sonogel

Abstract

An inorganic-organic hybrid system, silica-poly(ethylene glycol) sonogel is reported. This system was prepared via sol-gel method by varying various processing variables, e.g. ultrasonic radiation time, gelling temperature, PEG content and its molecular weight. Various experimental techniques were employed to analyze the morphological, mechanical and optical properties of the system. The results were discussed in the light of existing theories. The sonogel system exhibited the common features of inorganic-organic hybrids. SiO2-10 wt% PEG sonogel exhibited the morphological, mechanical and optical properties superior to those reported earlier for the classic gels and found suitable for device applications.