Sol-Gel Technology
SINTEF has been working materials synthesis and shaping by the Sol-Gel method for more than 15 years. Powders for use in catalysis and separation, thin films for use as protective coatings or in piezoelectric applications, and membranes for various separation processes, are areas where sol-gel technology are currently employed.
SINTEF Materials and Chemistry has built up facilities and laboratories in order to control the synthesis of functional materials from the molecular level. This process involves:
Synthesis of precursor molecules for preparation of sol particles
Preparation of nanosized particles in various solvents and water (sols)
Preparation of powders from sols, e.g. spray drying, hydrothermal treatment
Coating elaboration by various methods, i.e. dip coating, tape casting, slip casting, spin coating, spraying and roll coating
Sintering when necessary
Current applications of the sol-gel method in SINTEF are:
Ultrathin silica coatings (ca. 150 nm) have been developed for corrosion protection of steels. The development of defect-free coatings was enabled by the in-house development of hardware and software linked to a white light interferometer. This video shows how fine cracks propagate in coatings thicker than about 1 µm. An appropriate formulation eliminates the formation of cracks even when thick coatings are applied.
Contact person: Senior scientist Christian Simon