Materials Research Bulletin, Vol.31, No.9, 1133-1139, 1996
A New Solution Route to Silicates .3. Aqueous Sol-Gel Synthesis of Willemite and Potassium Antimony Silicate
Willemite, alpha-Zn2SiO4, and KSbOSiO4 (KSS) were prepared by an aqueous sol-gel process, starting from a H2Si2O5 solution as silicon source. Willemite was obtained free from impurities, in a teflon-lined bomb at 473 K under autogenous pressure. In the case of KSS, the same procedure results in a clear solution which gives, by evaporation at room temperature, an amorphous gel. Orthorhombic KSS crystallizes from this gel at 1273 K.