Effects of organic acids on sol-gel transition of silicic acid-Arheological study.

The article focuses on effects of organic acids on sol-gel transition of silicic acid-Arheological study. The sol-gel transition in the silica system is dependent upon the degree of hydrolysis and polymerization reaction in the system. The polymerization reaction for the formation of the gel network occurs in different stages, i.e. polymerization of monomer to form particles, growth of particles and finally linking of particles into chains and the formation of the network which extends throughout the liquid medium. The structural evolution through the growth of silicate polymers from the genesis to the gel point has been well established by various in-situ methods such as NMR, vibrational spectroscopy and small-angle scattering.