Vapogel-A new glass formation technique.
01 January 1988
SiC1(4) was tested in both the liquid and vapor state for its suitability as a monolithic gel precursor material in the fabrication of glass powder. Samples with molar ratios of H(2)O/SiC1(4) ranging from 4 to 100 were investigated. Several advantages of using SiC1(4) as a precursor over the classic organometallics such as tetraethylorthosilicate and tetramethylorthosilicate were determined. Gelation of the SiC1(4)-H(2)O so1 is more rapid and the texture of the gel is appropriate for fabricating particles with a narrow particle size distribution. Also, greater purity is achieved with SiC1(4) vapor as the starting material. The fully processed powder is suitable for feed material in plasma processing or extrusion of glasses.