Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 February 2011
Dynamic oscillatory experiments are used to monitor the gelation of theborosilicate systems prepared through the sol-gel process from metalalkoxides. The rheological experiments show that tan δ = G”/G’ isindependent of frequency at the gel point in agreement with the results ofothers on organic gelling systems. The dynamic moduli at the gel pointfollowed power-law behavior with respect to frequency. The power-lawexponent is found to be ∼0.70. The apparent fractal dimension, dp, of thenetwork cluster at the gel point is determined. The dF values forthe samples ranged from 2.5 to 3.8 depending on the final structure of theevolved products at the gel point. The large values (dF > 3)exclude a simple geometric interpretation of the results. The effect ofprocessing parameters, such as composition of reactants and temperature, onthe resulting microstructures near the gel point is discussed.