Composition and structure of platinum-containing thin composite films prepared from silica sols

Abstract

Chemical processes that can occur during aging of sols based on water–alcohol solutions of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and hexachloroplatinic acid and during formation of films from these sols are analyzed by the results of visible and UV spectroscopy and X-ray powder diffraction. The sizes and compositions of the platinum particles that are formed in xerogels and in thin films on the nanometer and submicron levels are estimated based on X-ray crystallography, energy dispersive spectral analysis, high-resolution scanning and transmission electron microscopy, and grazing incidence small-angle X-ray scattering studies.