CRYSTALLIZATION OF NANOSIZED TITANIA PARTICLES PREPARED BY THE SOL-GEL PROCESS

Sols of titania were obtained by the sol-gel method and their size profile was followed by dynamical light scattering. In the early stages of the reaction an unstable behavior was detected. After this unstable regime the particle size reaches a steady state where the sols have a constant size while increasing in number. Once the sol concentration reaches its overlap value, the gelation regime takes place. For samples prepared in this way Raman spectra and x-ray diffractometry were used to characterize the kinetics of crystallization of the material.