title: Silica Xerogel Obtained by Ultrashort Laser Irradiation of Tetraethyl Orthosilicate.
abstract: The formation of an opaque solid foam was induced by the direct interaction between tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) and an ultrashort femtosecond laser source(Nd:glass, 527 nm, 10 Hz, 250 fs). The product, which resulted to be a silica xerogel, was characterized by different techniques. In particular, information about the morphology was obtained by scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM), while the presence of different functional groups was studied through IR measurements. Since the properties of this kind of material can be improved by functionalizing it with metal nanoparticles, a palladium metal target was ablated in liquid TEOS. TEM images show that palladium was present in the form of nanoparticles and EDX measurements confirm the presence of the metal inside the silica network.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze, Università della Basilicata, Viale dell'Ateneo Lucano, 10-85100, Potenza, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sansone
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze, Università della Basilicata, Viale dell'Ateneo Lucano, 10-85100, Potenza, Italy.
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: De Bonis
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze, Università della Basilicata, Viale dell'Ateneo Lucano, 10-85100, Potenza, Italy.
authors.forename: Agostino
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Galasso
authors.affiliation: CNR-ISM, UOS Tito Scalo-Zona Industriale, 85050, Tito Scalo(PZ), Italy.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Santagata
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze, Università della Basilicata, Viale dell'Ateneo Lucano, 10-85100, Potenza, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Teghil
keywords: laser ablation; nanoparticles; silica xerogel