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.