A FT-IR study of the hydrolysis of tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS).

The hydrolysis and polymerization of a non-catalyzed silica sol was investigated by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) and deconvolution of the infrared spectra. The hydrolysis was followed by the 1168 and 812 cm(-1) bands which have been observed that decrease continously with the reaction time, and they dissapear showing the complete hydrolysis. The bands located at 1200 and 1147 cm(-1) are assigned to polymerization of Si-OH groups forming Si-O-Si bonds in cyclic or linear structures respectively. Both bands increase with time and are present simultaneously in the spectra showing that both kind of cross-linking of Si-OH groups are taking place in the sol to form the gel. In the gel the presence of Si-OH groups and Si-O- free broken bonds have been detected by means of the bonds located at 960 and 920 cm(-1) respectively.