Peculiarities and application perspectives of metal-ion implants in glasses

New approach for measuring gelation rate during synthesis of ZnO/SiO2 gel

“…Concerning ZnO nanoclusters, one of the most appealing applications is related to the synthesis of silica glasses embedding metal [1,2] or semiconductor [3] crystallites with nanometric size. Nanoclusters in silica can be prepared using many techniques [4][5][6], among which the sol-gel technology is of great scientific interest [7]. The shape of the oxide particles obtained via sol-gel technique is modeled to depend on the growth mechanisms.…”

Silver doping of glasses

“…Among the first methods used to create nanostructured silver clusters within glasses are ion implantation [105][106][107] and sol-gel techniques [7,[108][109][110][111]. Ion implantation does not allow an effective control on the size distribution of nanoclusters within the matrix, and is therefore currently explored mainly for the formation of exotic nanostructures such as core-shell or alloy particles.…”

Structure of Ni/SiO2 films prepared by sol–gel dip coating

“…Several methods have been used to process nanocomposite layers: ion implantation [7], sputtering [8], co-evaporation [9] and the sol-gel route [10]. The latter method involves the synthesis from hydrolysis and condensation processes of both matrix and metal oxides, followed by a thermal treatment in a reducing atmosphere to induce the nucleation and growth of metallic clusters.…”