Size selected silicon particles in sol-gel glass by centrifugal processing

Centrifugal processing was used to induce size selectivity in Si particles suspended in a silica sol-gel precursor solution. A model was developed to describe Stokes settling of the silicon particles in the sol-gel medium whose viscosity increases exponentially with time eventually leading to hardening to a solid glassy material. An empirical modification to the theoretical model accounts for settling of particle agglomerates. Experimental results for polydisperse silicon particulates centrifuged in a sol-gel of tetraethyl orthosilicate catalyzed by phosphoric acid are reported; the particle size and spatial distribution in the gelled matrix are explained by the model. The utility of centrifugal processing to produce functionally graded materials and semiconductor nanostructures is discussed. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics.