CERAMICS FROM TEMPLATED OXIDE GELS

Porous ceramic oxides are important in a wide area of applications and can be produced using sol-gel processes. In the past year important d evelopments have been made in the synthesis of gel structures involvin g the self-assembly and cc-operative organization of inorganic and org anic colloidal species in aqueous media. Such processes, which frequen tly involve interactions between inorganic oligomers and surfactant li quid crystal phases, can lead to microporous and mesoporous oxides wit h a highly uniform structure. Understanding of the mechanisms of forma tion of these 'templated' structures has progressed through the applic ation of a range of advanced physicochemical techniques.