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

Sols of titania were obtained by the sol-gel method and their size pro file was followed by dynamical light scattering. In the early stages o f 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 r eaches 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.