3-D-electron microscopy configuration of TMOS wet silica gels prepared by the quick-freeze,deep-etching-rotary-replication technique

Silica gel provides a useful medium for crystal growth; solution growth is confined to pores left free by the polymer during its development. All growth steps depend on the gel structure, which is not completely known for crystal growth conditions. Therefore, a three-dimensional (3-D) visualization has been performed for two TMOS aqueous gels, which are rather fragile: the quick-freeze, deep-etching, rotary-replication method has been applied for sample preparation. An original surface labeling technique has been used for surface recognition. The results concern the distribution of macropores that are responsible for crystal nucleation; micropores whose total volume is larger have not been visualized due to the limits of the method. These results are discussed in comparison with previous data performed by light scattering.