STRUCTURE OF RU-TI OXIDE AEROGELS - A SANS STUDY

Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) has been used to characterize Ru -Ti oxide aerogels annealed under various atmospheres and temperatures . The pores were filled with H2O/D2O solutions that match the scatteri ng properties of either RuO2 or TiO2, therefore scattering from the re maining unmatched phase is measured independently. The structure of th e RuO2, and TiO2, components of the aerogel detected by SANS depends m ore on annealing temperature than annealing atmosphere. The results ar e consistent with a branched, polymeric network made up of 8-16 nm TiO 2, particles and < 5-nm RuO2, particles. The SANS results are supporte d by TEM. This study demonstrates that contrast-matching SANS is compl ementary to other techniques for characterizing the structure of two-p hase aerogels. Published by Elsevier Science B.V.