Kickelbick, G. (ed.)
Hybrid Materials
Synthesis, Characterization, and Applications
Second Edition
2015
Print ISBN: 978-3-527-33844-3 (Also available in a variety of electronic formats)
Liu, X.Y., Li, J.L. (eds.)
Soft Fibrillar Materials
Fabrication and Applications
2013
Print ISBN: 978-3-527-33162-8 (Also available in a variety of electronic formats)
Tadros, T.F. (ed.)
Emulsion Formation and Stability
2013
Print ISBN: 978-3-527-31991-6 (Also available in a variety of electronic formats)
Schubert, H., Hüsing, N.
Synthesis of Inorganic Materials
Third Edition
2012
Print ISBN: 978-3-527-32714-0 (Also available in a variety of electronic formats)
Lyon, L.A., Serpe, M.J. (eds.)
Hydrogel Micro and Nanoparticles
2012
Print ISBN: 978-3-527-33033-1 (Also available in a variety of electronic formats)
Corriu, R., Anh, N.T.
Molecular Chemistry of Sol-Gel Derived Nanomaterials
2009
Print ISBN: 978-0-470-72117-9 (Also available in a variety of electronic formats)
Hamley, I.W.
Introduction to Soft Matter
Synthetic and Biological Self-Assembling Materials
2007
Print ISBN: 978-0-470-51609-6 (Also available in a variety of electronic formats)
Ruiz-Hitzky, E., Ariga, K., Lvov, Y.M. (eds.)
Bio-inorganic Hybrid Nanomaterials
Strategies, Syntheses, Characterization and Applications
2008
Print ISBN: 978-3-527-31718-9 (Also available in a variety of electronic formats)
Tadros, T.F. (ed.)
Self-Organized Surfactant Structures
2011
Print ISBN: 978-3-527-31990-9 (Also available in a variety of electronic formats)
Tadros, T.F.
Rheology of Dispersions
Principles and Applications
2010
Print ISBN: 978-3-527-32003-5 (Also available in a variety of electronic formats)
Platikanov, D., Exerowa, D. (eds.)
Highlights in Colloid Science
2009
Print ISBN: 978-3-527-32037-0 (Also available in a variety of electronic formats)
Fernandez-Nieves, A., Wyss, H., Mattsson, J., Weitz, D.A. (eds.)
Microgel Suspensions
Fundamentals and Applications
2011
Print ISBN: 978-3-527-32158-2 (Also available in a variety of electronic formats)
Tadros, T.F.
Dispersion of Powders
In Liquids and Stabilization of Suspensions
2012
Print ISBN: 978-3-527-32941-0 (Also available in a variety of electronic formats)
Volume 1: Synthesis and Processing
Volume 2: Characterization and Properties of Sol-Gel Materials
Volume 3: Application of Sol-Gel Materials
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Sol–gel materials are known since the early 1960s, when the first inorganic materials were prepared using this method. Sol–gel processing methods were first used historically for basic materials. In the last 30 years, many new applications have been developed. Materials scientists and engineers have showed increasing interest in this technology, as an alternative method of preparation of materials with new properties. Several books and handbooks have been written on this topic since the publication of the fantastic book Sol–Gel Science: The Physics and Chemistry of Sol–Gel Processing by C. Jeffrey Brinker and George W. Scherer in 1990. The comprehensive volume, Handbook of Sol–Gel Science and Technology: Processing Characterization and Applications, edited by Prof. Sumio Sakka, was published in 2004 and has served as one of the key references in the field. Since then, a remarkable scientific and technological development has taken place in the field of sol–gel materials, as reflected by the enormous increase in the number of ongoing researches in the field. The extensive use of sol–gel techniques in multidisciplinary and well-accepted materials preparation route is evidenced by the large number of works being published in diverse areas such as sol–gel-derived organic–inorganic hybrid materials, sol–gel-derived biomaterials, and sol–gel environmental materials. The huge number of papers dealing with sol–gel materials published during the last 5 years (more than 30 000) accounts for the popularity and relevance of the sol–gel technology in the preparation of novel materials. The sol–gel technology can be considered as one of the key technologies of the twenty-first century.
The field of hybrid materials is one of the most developed research areas in the last three decades. Promising properties of the materials and the possibility of different functions with one material make hybrid materials a very promising technology. The combination of functional inorganic components with functional organic and biological components made hybrid materials probably the most inclusive available route of different disciplines in materials science, such as photonics and optics, microelectronics, ceramics and polymer composites, catalysis and porous materials, functional coatings, energy, and the rapidly growing biotechnology applications with the advantage of easy integration in the devices, which also contribute to spread of this growing multidisciplinary field.
The hybrid approach and novel synthetic methods have brought a great revolution in the field. A new generation of advanced materials has evolved, which was not possible with other methods. Novel different routes for new compositions as well as control of the structure of these materials could be developed through bottom-up approaches that permit the tailoring of properties from the atomic to the macroscopic length scales. This is probably due to the mild, low-energy conditions used. Sol–gel technology has reached a relatively mature situation, with some products already available on the market. However, many difficulties related to the replacement of existing technologies make it difficult to fully accomplish some of the new proposed developments. There is still much work to do in terms of multidisciplinary research in the areas of chemistry and physics to exploit this technical opportunity of creating novel materials that satisfy the requirements of a variety of applications and devices. Many important contributions are expected in the coming years from the multidisciplinary research on novel hybrid functional sol–gel materials.
This Handbook focuses not only on scientific research but also on related industrial needs and developments. It covers the most relevant topics in basic research and those having potential technological applications. We acknowledge the considerable effort of each of the authors who has made excellent contributions to this excellent book.
We have intended to bring together all aspects of the sol–gel technology, from the laboratory preparation and processing techniques to the characterization and potential applications of the resulting materials. Readers will find in this Handbook the latest developments made in this interesting and growing research area. A special section has been devoted to the already existing important applications of these materials in the industry.
26 May 2015
David Levy
Marcos Zayat
Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid, CSIC, Madrid, Spain