XRD Study of Structurally Inhomogeneous Modified Xerogels Based on Liquid Glass

Abstract

The structural state of metal epoxysilicate and metallosilicate nanocomposites obtained by the sol-gel technology from systems based on alkali silicate solutions is studied. Hybrid nanocomposites prepared based on liquid glass (LG), in the initial state and after modification by copper salts (CuCl₂ and CuSO₄) and/or by the second component such as ED-20 epoxy resin, are considered. Based on the data of the XRD analysis and scanning electron microscopy, it is shown that the modified xerogels are structurally inhomogeneous, whereas the change in the microwave exposure time used in the synthesis stage to homogenize the mixture and intensify the physicochemical interaction processes affects the size and character of the packing of inhomogeneities. For the studied samples, the coordination numbers, coordination sphere radii, and their variances are calculated and analyzed.