Polymer Ceramic Composites: a Sol-gel Approach

Synthesis of polymer-ceramic hybrid composites is an attractive research topic in the field of Materials Chemistry as these hybrids offer a synergistic combination of the flexible, yet lightweight properties of polymers along with the higher heat resistance of the ceramics. Other desired functional properties such as catalytic, photochemical, electrical or magnetic behaviour can also be imparted. Solution chemistry offers scope for diverse entities to bond chemically and hence form stronger interfacial bonds. The sol-gel process described in this book is a brilliant yet simple solution process to achieve such interfacial cohesion while also retaining the purity of the components. The strength of the composite material is largely determined by the strength of the interfacial cohesion. This in turn depends on the formation of good homogeneous mixtures which are achieved by an opyimisation of various process parameters such as pH, temperature, catalyst and viscosity which have been described in detail in this book. This book will be useful for material chemists who intend to use the sol-gel fundamentals for hybrid synthesis with ceramic materials, in particular silica.